'Help, we are dying of the cold': Desperate guests trapped in Italian ski hotel send texts to loved ones after huge avalanche hits the building killing up to 30 people

Rescue teams (right and bottom left) had to trek for six miles using cross country skis to reach Hotel Rigopiano (centre and inset), in the remote village of Farindola, in the Abruzzo region, which has been hit by heavy snowfall in the last week. The search operation was launched after four powerful earthquakes hit
central Italy - in regions already reeling from deadly quakes last August. There are reports this morning that as many as 30 people - guests and staff- are missing after the avalanche crashed in to the three-storey hotel, shifting it up to 30ft. Farindola mayor Ilario Lacchetta said on his Facebook page that 'the dimensions of the avalanche were huge. 'It took the whole hotel with it.' he said.