Early this morning, Italian rescuers pulled out the last bodies from the ruins of a hotel destroyed by an avalanche in which 29 people died, the fire service announced.
As stated in the announcement, this ended the multi-day search for survivors and the bodies of the victims in the hotel "Rigopiano" in central Italy, which was hit by an avalanche caused by earthquakes on January 18.
Nine people were rescued from the ruins during the first days of the search.
Italian Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni told parliament on Wednesday that the delay and "poor organization" slowed down the rescue operation, but that, he said, "now is not the time to look for the culprits."
The Prosecution states that the autopsy of the first six bodies showed that the people died from physical trauma immediately after the demolition of the hotel and as a result of freezing and suffocation.
18 guests and hotel employees survived the accident, which happened on January 11.
Snow on the road prevented many guests from leaving the hotel before tragedy struck.
The avalanche hit the hotel with a force equal to that with which 4.000 trucks would hit the building at full speed, according to the French agency.
The avalanche started hours after a series of strong tremors hit the area, which was hit by devastating earthquakes last year and is struggling with heavy snowfall.
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