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Eight people have been found alive in Italy's Rigopiano hotel, two days after it was buried in an avalanche.
Rescuers said the survivors had been discovered buried under snow, but not all had been extracted. Two are children, Italian media said.
"They are alive and we are talking to them," fire spokesperson Luca Cari told Reuters news agency.
The deep avalanche buried the remote hotel, in the central Abruzzo region, after several earthquakes.
At least four people have been confirmed dead, and about 20 are still missing, as the rescue effort continues in difficult conditions.
Image copyright AFP Image caption Helicopters were called to the scene when the survivors were discovered Teams have been working at the scene for more than 24 hours in temperatures well below zero.
At first, it was thought there were only six survivors, but that was later revised to eight.
Rescue teams requested helicopter support once they had made the discovery.
Italy's Ansa news agency reports a mother and daughter have been rescued and taken to hospital.
Local media report that the survivors, who took refuge beneath a collapsed portion of ceiling, were three men, three women, and two children.
They have spent at least 40 hours buried in the snow and rubble.
The BBC's James Reynolds, in the nearby town of Penne, said news of the rescue had led to an outpouring of emotion.
"In one village, a young woman - who's worked at the collapsed hotel - dropped to her knees and burst into tears when she heard the news," he said.
Wednesday's earthquakes included four stronger than magnitude 5, in a region already struggling with heavy snowfall which buried phone lines and took out power cables. Phone lines were down at the Rigopiano hotel early on Wednesday.
Some reports suggest the guests had gathered on the ground floor of the hotel to await evacuation following the earthquakes.
But the avalanche completely buried the hotel at about 17:00 on Wednesday.
The force of the snow partially brought down the roof and, according to some reports, shifted the building 10m (11 yards) off its foundations.
Image copyright Getty Images / Vigili del Fuoco Image caption The hotel was completely buried for hours before rescue teams reached the scene Rescuers, who were forced to ski and shovel their way towards the site of the avalanche, were reportedly only dispatched hours later.
One survivor, who had left the hotel for his car, telephoned his boss, a man named Quintino Marcella, just after 17:30.
Mr Marcella said he immediately contacted the authorities, but they did not initially believe him. He said he kept calling for two hours before being told help was on the way.
The first rescue team reached the hotel by 04:30 (03:30 GMT) on Thursday, after a night of freezing temperatures.
Twenty-two guests and seven staff members were registered as being at the hotel, but the actual number is unclear, and rescuers say it could be as many as 35.
Two people who were outside the hotel at the time of the avalanche survived.
A list of 23 names given by La Stampa newspaper suggests that most are Italians but they include a Swiss national and a Romanian.
Three are children aged six, seven and nine, and the oldest person on the list is a man of 60.
Rescuers said the survivors had been discovered buried under snow, but not all had been extracted. Two are children, Italian media said.
"They are alive and we are talking to them," fire spokesperson Luca Cari told Reuters news agency.
The deep avalanche buried the remote hotel, in the central Abruzzo region, after several earthquakes.
At least four people have been confirmed dead, and about 20 are still missing, as the rescue effort continues in difficult conditions.
Image copyright AFP Image caption Helicopters were called to the scene when the survivors were discovered Teams have been working at the scene for more than 24 hours in temperatures well below zero.
At first, it was thought there were only six survivors, but that was later revised to eight.
Rescue teams requested helicopter support once they had made the discovery.
Italy's Ansa news agency reports a mother and daughter have been rescued and taken to hospital.
Local media report that the survivors, who took refuge beneath a collapsed portion of ceiling, were three men, three women, and two children.
They have spent at least 40 hours buried in the snow and rubble.
The BBC's James Reynolds, in the nearby town of Penne, said news of the rescue had led to an outpouring of emotion.
"In one village, a young woman - who's worked at the collapsed hotel - dropped to her knees and burst into tears when she heard the news," he said.
Wednesday's earthquakes included four stronger than magnitude 5, in a region already struggling with heavy snowfall which buried phone lines and took out power cables. Phone lines were down at the Rigopiano hotel early on Wednesday.
Some reports suggest the guests had gathered on the ground floor of the hotel to await evacuation following the earthquakes.
But the avalanche completely buried the hotel at about 17:00 on Wednesday.
The force of the snow partially brought down the roof and, according to some reports, shifted the building 10m (11 yards) off its foundations.
Image copyright Getty Images / Vigili del Fuoco Image caption The hotel was completely buried for hours before rescue teams reached the scene Rescuers, who were forced to ski and shovel their way towards the site of the avalanche, were reportedly only dispatched hours later.
One survivor, who had left the hotel for his car, telephoned his boss, a man named Quintino Marcella, just after 17:30.
Mr Marcella said he immediately contacted the authorities, but they did not initially believe him. He said he kept calling for two hours before being told help was on the way.
The first rescue team reached the hotel by 04:30 (03:30 GMT) on Thursday, after a night of freezing temperatures.
Twenty-two guests and seven staff members were registered as being at the hotel, but the actual number is unclear, and rescuers say it could be as many as 35.
Two people who were outside the hotel at the time of the avalanche survived.
A list of 23 names given by La Stampa newspaper suggests that most are Italians but they include a Swiss national and a Romanian.
Three are children aged six, seven and nine, and the oldest person on the list is a man of 60.