Monitoring Desk
VIENNA: Austrian police said Sunday that at least five people had been killed in avalanches in the country’s west after three deaths were reported on Saturday despite appeals for caution on ski slopes.
The eight deaths came as resorts were filled during the February school holidays in Vienna state, with the avalanche warning level at four on a scale of five after many days of intense wind and snowfall.
Police in Austria’s western Tyrol region said on Sunday, the body of a man buried while assisting in the snow removal effort in his tractor was recovered.
Dead bodies of two skiers aged 33 and 29, including a guide, carried off-piste, were recovered in Sankt Anton am Arlberg on Saturday morning.
Austria’s authorities ask winter sports enthusiasts to be cautious
A police spokesman said a 62-year-old man, who had not come back after cross-country skiing around the Hohe Aifner summit, was recovered by rescue teams and could not be revived.
The authorities declined to share information on the nationality of the four avalanche victims recovered on Sunday.
On Saturday, a young New Zealand national who was skiing off-piste, a German national in his 50s, and a 32-year-old Chinese national, also said to be skiing outside the designated routes, were recovered dead.
Over the past two days, heavy wind and snowfall have increased the avalanche threat, with officials warning winter sports enthusiasts to be cautious.
