128 | March• 2019
SWEPT AWAY
screen, the team saw two small kids
emerge from behind a sofa, including
Adriana’s daughter, drawn by the light
from the hole in the roof. Somehow,
the entire room appeared intact.
Through a hole in the wall, fire-
fighters found three children. “Stay
calm,”arescuersaid.“Getonyour
bellies, make like a centipede.” Care-
fully but quickly, the men ushered
thechildrenoutoftherubble.
Meanwhile, another squad of
rescuerspickeduponaphonesig-
nal, coming from a crawl space. They
sawed towards voices crying for help.
Soon they found the young couple,
Galassi and Forti, as well as Bronzi,
the girlfriend of Stefano Feniello – and
they pulled them to safety.
“Who else is down here?”
“Giampaolo Matrone,” one of them
said.AngelofMercy
It was after midnight now, Saturday,
Januar y 21, some 55 hours since the
avalanche.Therescuershadbeen
working nonstop for more than two
days.Thewreckagewasfrighteningly
unstable.Astheymoved,therescu-
ersknewthattheforceoftheirdig-
gingandcutting–oranothertremor
–couldbringitalldownuponthem.
Paolo Di Quinzio and three other
alpine rescuers burrowed on, break-
ing blade after blade on their circular
saws,battlingtowardsafaintphone
signal detected deep in the ruins.
Suddenly, they heard a voice. TheyWorking in teams of three or four,
firefighters and members of the alpine
rescue team carefully lowered them-
selves through the apertures they’d
cut. Lights fastened to their helmets
illuminated the twisted debris. The
space was so cramped, the rescuers
had to crawl on their bellies. For hours
they called out for survivors.
Finally, at 11am on Friday, more
than30hoursafterthesearchbegan,
they heard something astonishing: a
womancryingforhelp.
“Wearefirefighters,”oneoftheres-
cuers screamed back. “Who are you?”
“I am Adriana.”
“How many are you?”
“I’minaroomwithmyson,”she
said.“Mydaughter’sinside,inthe
next room.”
AdrianaVranceanu–whosehus-
bandhadgonetofetchheraspirin
from their car before the avalanche
andthenphonedforhelp–was
bleeding from a head wound when
firefighters found her and her son
squeezed together in a crawl space.
As they were led to safety, Adriana
wastoldthatherhusbandhadbeen
evacuatedtoanearbyhospital.
Finding the survivors electrified
the rescuers, but what Adriana told
them made an even bigger impact:
“There are many other people inside
the hotel.” The firefighters tunnelled
quickly towards the nearby billiard
room, cut a small hole in the roof,
focused a searchlight, and lowered
a video probe. Gathered around a