MILAN (AP) — An Italian official says a hotel in an earthquake-hit zone of central Italy has been buried by an avalanche, with reports of dead.

Italian media say that the avalanche covered the three-story hotel in the central region of Abruzzo on Wednesday evening. The news agency ANSA quoted a rescuer as saying that there were fatalities, but details weren't immediately available.

The president of the Pescara provincial wrote on Facebook on Thursday that there were 20 guests at the hotel when it was covered by the avalanche, about 45 kilometers (30 miles) from the coastal city of Pescara.