At least 22 guests and several staff members were at the Hotel Rigopiano near the Gran Sasso mountain range when it was hit by the avalanche on Wednesday, a rescue group leader in the area told ANSA.
Rescue workers were not able to reach the area until the early hours of Thursday because of the poor weather conditions.
Central Italy was rocked by more than 10 tremors on Wednesday, four of them above a magnitude of 5, according to the US Geological Survey.
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