MILAN - An avalanche has buried a mountain hotel in an earthquake-hit region of central Italy.

Authorities say at least 30 people are missing. Italian media say the avalanche covered the three-story hotel in the central region of Abruzzo.

A man staying at a mountain hotel in central Italy says he escaped an avalanche when he went outside to get something out of his car.

But the 38-year-old man says his wife and two children were buried inside the building.

Italian news reports say that some guests in the hotel have been texting messages to emergency numbers, saying they're trapped inside.

The mountainous region of central Italy has been struck by a series of quakes since August.