Survivor of Italy avalanche ate snow to stay hydrated during 58-hour ordeal

So far nine people have been rescued alive after the Rigopiano hotel was hit by an avalanche

Nine people have been pulled from the wreckage of the hotel which was buried by an avalanche (AP)

Survivors of the avalanche that destroyed an Italian hotel have revealed how they ate snow to stay hydrated during the 58 hours they were trapped.

So far nine people have been rescued after the Rigopiano hotel in central Italy was hit by an avalanche estimated to have weighed approximately 120,000 tons.

Six bodies have been found so far and rescuers continue to work despite poor weather conditions as officials say they are hopeful of finding more survivors among the 23 who are still missing.

Georgia Galassi was one of those to have been pulled out alive. When the avalanche hit, the 22-year-old was sitting on a couch in the lobby of the hotel with her fiancé.

"Everything crumbled and I could not understand a thing," she told Italy's Corriere della Sera.

"The only thing we ate was ice. We had a lot and this kept us going.

"I lost count of time, and still haven't got it back. But I think it lasted two days, maybe a bit more," she said.

Ms Glassi said her fiancé, 25-year-old Vincenzo Forti, supported everyone who was trapped and hummed to keep their spirits up.

They heard a mechanical sound and then human voices as rescuers reached them.

She described saying, "I am Georgia, and I am alive,” to her rescuer as the “most beautiful thing” she has ever said.