Qualla: Rigopiano Avalanche

Rigopiano Avalanche: Introduction

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The hotel owner had already sent his email. Guests at the four-star Hotel Rigopiano were panicking -- earthquakes had been rattling the Gran Sasso massif all day on 18 January 2017, and many wanted to leave, some planning to spend the night in their cars rather than remain inside. But evacuation never came. At 4:48 p.m., an avalanche carrying between 40,000 and 60,000 tonnes of snow slammed into the hotel at roughly 100 kilometers per hour, collapsing the roof and shoving the entire structure 10 meters down the mountainside. Of the 40 people inside, 29 would never leave.

Read more: Rigopiano Avalanche on Qualla

Rigopiano Avalanche: Earthquakes, Then Snow

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Two forces conspired to create the disaster. Record snowfall had blanketed the Gran Sasso d'Italia massif in the days preceding 18 January, loading the slopes above Rigopiano with enormous volumes of snow. Then, on the morning of the avalanche, a series of earthquakes shook the r...

Read more: Rigopiano Avalanche on Qualla

Rigopiano Avalanche: Buried Alive

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The avalanche largely destroyed the hotel, burying it under at least four meters of snow. Two people survived because they happened to be standing outside when the wall of snow hit. Inside, nine others clung to life in air pockets created by loft spaces that had not fully collaps...

Read more: Rigopiano Avalanche on Qualla

Rigopiano Avalanche: The Call Nobody Believed

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Criticism mounted swiftly over the emergency response. A survivor who remained outside the buried hotel called for help immediately, but alleged that authorities initially refused to believe an avalanche had actually struck. Quintino Marcella, a restaurant owner in Silvi who rece...

Read more: Rigopiano Avalanche on Qualla

Rigopiano Avalanche: Accountability on Trial

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Prosecutors launched both a manslaughter investigation into the delayed emergency response and a separate inquiry into whether the hotel had been built on the path of previous avalanches. A trial beginning in 2019 concluded in February 2023 with five convictions. The mayor of Far...

Read more: Rigopiano Avalanche on Qualla

Rigopiano Avalanche: Never Again

Mon, 23 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT

On 18 January 2018, exactly one year after the disaster, a day of remembrance was held at the ruins of the Hotel Rigopiano. Victims' relatives, local residents, and representatives of emergency services gathered to read prayers and poems and lay flowers. Photos of the 29 people w...

Read more: Rigopiano Avalanche on Qualla