Five off-piste skiers have died in two avalanches in the Austrian Alps following heavy snowfall in the region. An avalanche hit a group of seven skiers in the Pongau area near Salzburg, killing four and seriously injuring one on Saturday, local mountain rescue officials said. A similar avalanche swept away another skier in the same area earlier that day. Poor conditions have led to several fatalities in the Alps over the past week.
In the latest incidents, the mountain rescue service was alerted around 14:00 local time (13:00 GMT). Four people were found dead while one suffered serious injuries. One hour and a half prior, a female skier was buried by an avalanche in open alpine terrain nearby. Gerhard Kremser, district head of the Pongau mountain rescue service, expressed condolences to the families affected and highlighted the hazardous avalanche conditions.
Additional avalanches were noted in the Pongau region around midday, although no injuries were reported. Notably, a 13-year-old boy from Czech died in an avalanche in Bad Gastein on Tuesday, while another incident the previous Sunday claimed the life of a 58-year-old skier in Tyrolean Weerberg. Internationally, the avalanche dangers are mirrored in neighboring Switzerland and France, where additional casualties have occurred recently.}
In the latest incidents, the mountain rescue service was alerted around 14:00 local time (13:00 GMT). Four people were found dead while one suffered serious injuries. One hour and a half prior, a female skier was buried by an avalanche in open alpine terrain nearby. Gerhard Kremser, district head of the Pongau mountain rescue service, expressed condolences to the families affected and highlighted the hazardous avalanche conditions.
Additional avalanches were noted in the Pongau region around midday, although no injuries were reported. Notably, a 13-year-old boy from Czech died in an avalanche in Bad Gastein on Tuesday, while another incident the previous Sunday claimed the life of a 58-year-old skier in Tyrolean Weerberg. Internationally, the avalanche dangers are mirrored in neighboring Switzerland and France, where additional casualties have occurred recently.}
