The Latest: Girl pulled from avalanche hotel, wants cookie
Relatives of those still missing in the avalanche-hit hotel in central Italy have been gathering anxiously at the hospital in Pescara, the closest city to the accident site, eagerly awaiting word of their loved ones.
A few relatives erupted in frustration at a Friday evening press conference, saying they had received no information.
Italy's civil protection chief says five of the 10 people found alive inside an avalanche-covered hotel have been pulled out and that rescue crews are working to get the other five to safety.
Rescuers said the mother indicated her 6-year-old daughter Ludovica was also alive amid the debris nearby and rescue workers immediately set to work to find her, too.
Cari gave the update late Friday afternoon as rescue workers continued trying to extract survivors from the collapsed buildings of the resort northeast of Rome.
The ANSA news agency quotes the vice brigadier of Italy's financial police, Marco Bini, as saying eight people were located alive in two separate operations Friday.
Italian news reports say the number of people found alive under the rubble of the avalanche-crushed hotel in central Italy has risen to eight, including two children.
Earlier, AP staffers reaching the scene on foot overheard firefighter radio reports saying five people had been located and requesting helicopters to bring them to hospitals.
Italian police radio and news reports say five people are believed to have been found alive in the rubble of the avalanche that flattened a mountain resort and that helicopters have been requested to take them to safety.
Two Associated Press staffers overheard police radio chatter when they were turned away from the site of the disaster Friday.
The rescue operations have been hampered by difficulty in accessing the remote the Hotel Rigopiano, which was buried in an avalanche with about 30 people inside Wednesday afternoon.
Romanians are fearing the worst for a local nurs