Avalanche leaves 240 stranded in Huesca ski resorts
Sunday, January 26, 2014 @ 7:27 PM
AVALANCHES at the ski station of Benasque in the province of Huesca have left 58 guests and 20 employees stranded in a hotel on the resort.
In total, at least 240 skiers are said to be trapped in stations throughout the north of the province due to a series of avalanches falling over Friday night and Saturday morning.
Rescue workers have been trying to clear a path through the snowdrift, which has cut off the A-139 in Llanos del Hospital, the nearest village to the resort.
They are digging an 'escape route' out of the side door of the Hospital de Benasque hotel, because to do so from the main entrance would take them several days, says manager Jorge Mayoral.
The avalanche, said to be caused by rainfall and increasing temperatures in the last few days, is one of several which have hit the entire valley.
In nearby Senarta, three have blocked off the diversion to the hospital.
Further along the Spanish Pyrénées, an avalanche fell onto the C142b in La Pleta de Tanau, in the Naut Aran area of the province of Lleida.
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