Angel of the avalanche
Six-year-old saved from icy tomb asks her rescuers: Can I have a biscuit now?
A MOTHER who cried ‘Find my daughter!’ as she was pulled from the rubble of an Italian hotel struck by an avalanche last week has finally been reunited with her little girl.
Ludovica Parete, six, was trapped for more than 48 hours in subzero temperatures.
The Parete family were on holiday at the Hotel Rigopiano in the village of Farindola in central Italy when the avalanche struck, at about 5.30pm local time (4.30pm GMT) on Wednesday, dumping 16ft of snow on the resort and killing at least five people.
Miraculously, the family’s father, Giampiero, 38, had gone to get headache tablets from his car when the four-storey hotel was crushed, trapping up to 30 people inside.
Mr Parete, a chef, raised the alarm, but his wife Adriana and the couple’s two children, Gianfilippo, eight, and Ludovica were trapped in the building.
Mrs Parete and her son huddled by the kitchen stove for warmth and were rescued on Friday.
But it was not until late that night that Ludovica was lifted out – like most of the survivors so far, unharmed. Rescue officer Marco Bini said: ‘The snow insulated them and protected them from the freezing temperatures outside. It was like being in an igloo.’
On being rescued, one of the first things Ludovica asked for was a biscuit. Family friend Quintino Marcella spoke to the little girl by phone on Friday evening.
‘She is okay,’ he said. ‘She asked for Ringos.’ Ringos are a type of vanilla and chocolate biscuit popular with Italian children.
Ludovica was taken by helicopter to the city of Pescara, where she was being assessed in hospital alongside three other children.
Rescuers said all the children trapped in the hotel were saved because they had been playing in the billiard room, which suffered less damage. But up to 16 people are still missing. Italian media reported yesterday that it is thought voices had been heard overnight on Friday.
Mrs Parete had been filmed being brought out from the rubble with her son on Friday and was heard shouting for rescuers to find her daughter. A hospital spokesman said: ‘Mr Parete’s wife and son are in excellent condition. They have light hypothermia and dehydration.
‘They survived because they had access to the heavy clothing in their suitcases and because they were not in contact with the snow but inside a room that was closed off. They are also getting psychological help because it was a very
‘Thank you everyone from my heart’
traumatic situation.’ Mr Parete later posted on Facebook: ‘Thank you everyone from my heart, big hugs.’
A manslaughter investigation has been launched, with prosecutors looking into whether a warning about a potential avalanche was taken seriously, and whether the hotel should have been evacuated sooner following heavy snowfall. Prosecutor Christina Tedeschini said: ‘That hotel, should it have been open?’
Firefighters were yesterday hoping to find more survivors and had located five people still trapped inside. It is not known what caused the avalanche, although a record high snowfall and several local earthquakes could be responsible.