Body parts found on Italian glacier after deadly avalanche

A view taken from a rescue helicopter of the Punta Rocca glacier near Canazei, in the Italian Alps in northern Italy (AP)

Rescuers have found body parts and equipment as they search for hikers missing following a powerful avalanche that killed at least seven people.

Officials initially feared 13 hikers were still missing on the Marmolada glacier, east of Bolzano in the Dolomite mountains, but the province of Trento reduced the number of people unaccounted for to five after eight others checked in with authorities.