Police say one person was killed and four other were injured by an avalanche on Saturday in western Austria. This happened just days after seven people died in two other avalanches in the area. The heavy snowfall, coupled with warmer temperatures, made it unusually dangerous.
Austrian broadcaster ORF stated that Saturday’s avalanche in Schmirn in the state Tirol killed a local man aged 58.
Police said that the avalanche at the border with Switzerland, near Spiss, killed a 42-year old Austrian mountain-and-ski-guide and four Swedish skiers.
Police said another member of the group, a 43 year-old Swede, could call for help and was rescued.
In a third incident, two Austrian skiers were also killed.
Police said that emergency services discovered the bodies of two Austrian skiers, one aged 61 and the other 60, at 4am Central Standard European Time (11:40 GMT on Friday). This was after their relatives raised alarm because they couldn’t be reached.
They had left the Tirol region on Friday afternoon. The man called a contact at 3.30pm GMT to inform him that they had reached the Breitegg peak, 1,868 metres (6,129 feet) Breitegg peak). This was their last contact.
Police released a statement saying that relatives called 911 after they couldn’t be reached.
