VIENNA: Three avalanches across Austria killed eight skiers on Saturday, authorities said, underscoring the heightened danger despite repeated warnings.
In western Austria’s Bad Hofgastein area, a female skier was fatally buried by an avalanche at an altitude of about 2,200 metres around 12:30 pm, according to the Pongau mountain rescue service. About 90 minutes later, another avalanche in the nearby Gastein Valley, south of Salzburg, swept away seven people, killing four, seriously injuring two, and leaving one unhurt.
In central Austria’s Pusterwald area, three Czech skiers were killed when an avalanche struck shortly before 4:30 pm, police said. Four of their companions were evacuated safely. In a separate incident in Styria’s Murtal district, an avalanche buried three members of a group of seven Czech ski tourers. Emergency responders managed to locate and partially dig out the victims, but all three were found dead.
“This tragedy painfully demonstrates how serious the current avalanche situation is,” said Gerhard Kremser, head of the Pongau mountain rescue service, noting that clear and repeated avalanche warnings had been issued.
The deaths come amid a spate of recent avalanche incidents in the region. Earlier this week, a 13-year-old Czech skier was killed off-piste in Bad Gastein, while a 58-year-old ski tourer died last Sunday in the Tyrolean resort of Weerberg. In neighbouring Switzerland, a German man was killed and four others injured in an avalanche on Friday. Last weekend, six skiers died in avalanches across various Alpine resorts in France.
