Final Toll for Italy Avalanche Stands at 29 as Recovery Ends

FILE - In this Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017 file photo, Italian firefighters search for survivors after an avalanche buried Hotel Rigopiano near Farindola, central Italy. The final death toll from Italy's devastating avalanche stands at 29 after the remaining bodies were pulled out of the rubble of the hotel crushed by tons of snow, firefighters said Thursday, Jan. 26. Firefighters issued the update after a week of search efforts at the isolated hotel. Nine people were pulled out alive in the first days of the rescue. Italian Firefighters/ANSA via Italian Firefighters, File

PENNE, Italy—The final death toll from Italy’s devastating avalanche stands at 29 after the remaining bodies were pulled out of the rubble of a hotel crushed by tons of snow, firefighters said Thursday.

Firefighters issued the update after a week of search efforts at the isolated Hotel Rigopiano in central Italy. Nine people were pulled out alive in the first days of the rescue.

Premier Paolo Gentiloni acknowledged delays and “malfunctioning” in the initial rescue effort after local authorities brushed off the first alarms about the avalanche. But Gentiloni told parliament on Wednesday that now wasn’t the time to find scapegoats.

Italian Mountain Rescue Corps "Corpo Nazionale Soccorso Alpino e Speleologico" Soccorso Alpino volunteers and rescuers work in the area of the avalanche-struck Hotel Rigopiano, near Farindola, central Italy, Wednesday Jan. 25, 2017. Corpo Nazionale Soccorso Alpino e Speleologico/via AP