FOUR helicopters were evacuating some 100 tourists and hotel workers from a four-star mountainside hotel and a nearby guesthouse in northern Italy after an avalanche overnight, civil protection authorities have said.
Yesterday’s development came as heavy snow caused disruption across the Alps.
The Langtauferer Hotel, a ski resort located near the Austrian border at 1870 metres (6135 feet) above sea level and some 60 miles north-west of Bolzano, was not directly hit, but was in an area of extremely high risk for further avalanches, said Katia Squeo of the civil protection agency in Bolzano.
“The electricity was restored and the guests didn’t want to go, so the mayor ordered the evacuation,” Squeo said. “The avalanche risk is still present.”
The evacuation was taking place under clear conditions, with each helicopter ferrying seven people at a time to a school gymnasium in nearby San Valentino, where they were being fed and looked after.
A nearby guesthouse was also evacuated, and the whole village was cut off from the nearest major road, some 12 miles away, by the heavy snowfall and avalanche risk.
The whole northern crest of the Alps bordering Austria was under the highest avalanche risk following an extraordinary snowfall of up to two metres, beating record levels dating to the early 1980s in some places, officials said.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here