Rigopiano: that dark and horrible night - THE SPECIAL

First the snowcat gave up, letting the firefighters go on, then at a certain point the snow was so abundant, the storm so violent, the twigs, the uprooted trees and the stones on the road so many, that it was possible to proceed only on foot.

It took 20 hours for the entire rescue car to reach Rigopiano and the hotel buried by the huge avalanche that broke off on January 18, 2017 after a series of earthquakes.

For a whole night men from the Alpine Rescue, the Guardia di Finanza, the Carabinieri advanced among the snow walls and some, at a certain point, detached the column of vehicles to continue on foot and on skis.

How was the Hotel Rigopiano: a Spa at 1200 meters - PHOTOS

THE EARTHQUAKE SHAKES

- On

the earth shook for the first time at 10.25: the earthquake, magnitude 5.1, epicenter in the Aquila, gives way to an infinite series of other jolts, three of which above magnitude 5. To aggravate the situation, the abundant snow fell in those days: the mix will prove deadly.

THE GUESTS OF THE HOTEL

- In the afternoon, the guests of the Rigopiano hotel, worried about the heavy snowfall, are ready to leave, with their luggage in the hall and await the snowplow, whose arrival however 'slipped' at 19. Too late.

THE ALARM

- Around 6 pm the alarm began to circulate for a completely isolated hotel in the hamlet of Penne.

The first alert was given by the SMS arrived from two hotel guests who had managed to take refuge outside the structure.

And shortly after 7pm the news of the disaster also spread.

THE AID

- The rescuers had to reach an area, the one on which the resort stood, which is located at 1,200 meters above sea level. At 7 pm the avant-garde arrived in the Cupoli district, 11 km from Rigopiano. But the snow was already reaching two meters and the phones didn't pick up. At 10 pm the column of vehicles entered the last stretch of road: there were 9 km to the hotel but the ascent had to stop. It was now midnight when four men from the Alpine Rescue and the Guardia di Finanza decided to proceed on skis with sealskins: after four exhausting hours, they arrived at the hotel and rescued the two survivors who had raised the alarm. Around 6.30, the helicopters arrived to take them downstream and in the meantime the search for the missing persons began. The first victim was extracted at 9.30.Only at midday did the column of rescue vehicles arrive a few hundred meters from the hotel and after 20 hours, the rescue men, having made the last stretch on foot, reached the site of the disaster.  

For

, keeping Italy in suspense.

Journalists arrive nine days after the disaster and searches have been completed: there are no longer any of the 28 guests and 12 employees to look for: 

11

.

Rigopiano: from refuge to luxury resort (PHOTOS)

The email of the hotel to the authorities: "Terrified customers, intervene"

THE RIGOPIANO DRAMA, ALL THE VIDEOS