Italian rescuers pulled four survivors from an avalanche-hit hotel today and said they remained hopeful of finding alive at least some of the 23 people still trapped under the ruins.
The latest rescues lifted the total number of survivors to 11.
But there were 23 people still unaccounted for, according to a first official statement on the number of missing.
Morale among the teams of mountain police and firefighters remained high after on Friday’s dramatic rescue of all four children who were inside the Hotel Rigopiano, in central Italy, along with the mother of two of them.
But the rescue operation, now in its third day, was increasingly resembling a race against the clock amid fears that anyone still alive could succumb to the cold before being found.
Two men and two women were rescued alive on Saturday.