ROME, January 19. /TASS/. Up to 30 people may have been killed after a hotel in central Italy was buried by an avalanche, the ANSA news agency reported on Thursday.

Many bodies have been found at the scene of the tragedy, said Antonio Crocetta, the head of a group of rescuers told the agency. No exact number of bodies discovered by the rescuers has been revealed.

There were no Russian tourists inside the hotel, the press service of the Russian Tourism Agency (Rostourism) said. "This is a mini hotel, it is not very popular among the Russians," a spokesperson said.

The avalanche, apparently triggered by an earthquake, struck central Italy on Wednesday evening. The situation in the region is complicated by bad weather as the mountainous areas of the Central Apennines have been hit by heavy snow over the past days.

The rescuers spent several hours to reach the hotel. The helicopters of the rescue services are trying to land near the building.

The meteorologists had warned about the avalanche threat, including in the neighboring Marche region.