There is a risk of avalanches in the Alps due to heavy snowfall. Many winter sports enthusiasts do not let the high warning levels stop them from undertaking tours in open terrain. In Austria, Italy and Switzerland, several people are buried under the snow masses.
After heavy snowfall in the Alps, at least eleven people died in avalanches at the weekend. In Austria, according to the police, eight people were rescued dead from the snow masses at the weekend. Two other skiers died in an avalanche in Switzerland, a tourer from Bavaria died in South Tyrol. Experts confirmed the great danger of avalanches in the face of further snowfall and wind.
In Tirol, two tourers aged 29 and 33 were found dead in Sankt Anton am Arlberg this Sunday, and another 62-year-old ski tourer was found dead in Kaunerberg. The three winter athletes had been missing since Saturday.
In East Tyrol, the driver of a snow plow died, the police said. He had cleared snow in Debanttal on Saturday when an avalanche went off. The man and his tractor were only found this Sunday. The emergency doctor could only determine the death of the man, the police said.
A fifth person died in an avalanche in Längenfeld in the Ötztal this Sunday, the police said. According to the Austrian news agency APA, there were numerous avalanches in Tyrol and Vorarlberg on Saturday, with 30 reported from Tyrol alone. According to the APA, a man who was found dead under snow masses in Kleinwalsertal on Saturday morning was a 55-year-old German. He had been missing since Friday evening.
A 17-year-old New Zealander died in the Zillertal on Saturday. A 32-year-old Chinese skier died in an avalanche in Sölden in the Ötztal (Tyrol) on Friday. In South Tyrol, Italy, a 31-year-old tourer from Bavaria died in an avalanche on Saturday, according to APA. Despite the warning level four on the five-digit avalanche warning scale in western Austria, according to APA, numerous winter sports enthusiasts were outdoors. Several people were therefore buried and injured when leaving.
As the police in the Swiss canton of Graubünden announced, two skiers were off the slopes on Saturday morning and were caught by an avalanche. A third member of the group was unharmed. The two dead are a 56-year-old woman and a 52-year-old man. The rescue operation had to be temporarily interrupted due to poor visibility and bad weather conditions.
