Emergencies: Several winter sports enthusiasts die from avalanches

emergencies
Several winter sports enthusiasts die from avalanches

Mountain rescuers on duty in the Fieberbrunn area. The avalanche situation in Austria has led to numerous rescue operations. photo

© Zoom.Tirol/APA/dpa

The snowy mountains attract winter sports enthusiasts. However, the fresh snow is not without its dangers. Authorities warn of avalanches. Several people have fatal accidents.

Several people were killed by avalanches in the mountains over the weekend. In the Austrian states of Tyrol and Vorarlberg alone, six winter sports enthusiasts and one snowplow driver have died since Friday, and a ski tourer from Bavaria had a fatal accident in South Tyrol. Authorities warned of further avalanches – also in the Bavarian Alps.

According to the avalanche warning service, there have been more avalanches in Bavaria in the past few days, especially in the Allgäu and from a height of 1400 meters. They were mainly triggered by winter sports enthusiasts. The danger was also high at the weekend. According to the avalanche warning service, nobody was seriously injured there, unlike in Austria and Italy.

Woman from Bavaria dies in South Tyrol

A 31-year-old ski tourer from Bavaria died in an avalanche in South Tyrol on Saturday. She was found at a depth of 2.5 meters and could not be revived. According to the South Tyrolean mountain rescue service, a companion was able to be freed unharmed under the masses of snow and, according to the mountain rescue service, came to the emergency pastoral care. The masses of snow had fallen at a height of about 2200 meters. A group of German ski tourers who had noticed the incident rushed to help. The accident site was around 80 kilometers east of Bolzano near the border with the Veneto region.

In St. Anton, Austria, two ski tourers were found dead in the snow. The 29-year-old ski guide and his guest, a 33-year-old Austrian, were hit by a slab of snow in the open ski area on Saturday morning. The search had to be interrupted because of the high avalanche danger.

In the Austrian Kaunertal, a 62-year-old ski tourer died under an avalanche. In East Tyrol, the driver of a snow plow was found dead under snow masses on Sunday. According to the police, the vehicle was caught in an avalanche and carried away.

A 32-year-old Chinese skier died in an avalanche in the Ötztal. A 17-year-old New Zealander was buried by masses of snow in the Zillertal, and a 55-year-old German who had been missing since Friday evening was found dead under an avalanche in the Kleinwalsertal on Saturday. Despite the warnings, the three winter sports enthusiasts had left the secured ski area on the slopes.

In the past few days, significantly more than one meter of fresh snow had fallen regionally in the Alps. There is the second highest avalanche warning level. Dozens of avalanches were counted in Tyrol alone.

dpa

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