Italy puts 23 people under investigation in hotel avalanche

FILE: Flag of Italy (Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain)

ROME — Italian prosecutors have put 23 people under formal investigation over an avalanche that killed 29 hotel guests and staff earlier this year.

Investigators want to learn if there were violations in authorizing the Apennine mountain Hotel Rigopiano’s construction in an avalanche-prone area.

Also being probed is whether the hotel should have been evacuated after earthquakes rocked the area near Farindola town in Pescara province, or if authorities were slow to respond to rescue pleas after tons of snow smashed into the hotel on Jan. 18.

The Italian news agency ANSA said the 23 formal notices of investigation were issued on Thursday and that possible charges for some could include manslaughter.

Four children and five adults were pulled alive from the snow and debris days after the avalanche.