Three skiers have died in avalanches in recent hours in the Austrian regions of Tyrol and Vorarlberg, authorities said.
One of the victims died Saturday after being buried in Kaltenbach, a 17-year-old New Zealand tourist who was skiing alone, according to police, quoted by the daily ‘Die Presse’.
A middle-aged man died on Friday in Kleinwalsertal. The body was found under the snow on Saturday morning. The latest fatality is a 32-year-old Chinese skier who died in an avalanche in Oetztal, also in the Alpine region.
Two others are also reported missing in St. Anton am Arlberg, but the rescue operation has had to be interrupted due to danger to emergency personnel.
In Warth am Arlberg a 15-year-old teenager was rescued alive after 15 minutes under the snow. He was transported to the hospital in Zams. «There are a lot of irresponsible people out skiing,» a spokesman for the Vorarlberg control center, Adi Rohrer, was quoted as saying by ‘Die Presse’.
The storms and strong wind have raised the avalanche alert level in Austria to 4 on a scale of 5 and so far 17 avalanches have been recorded with nine affected in the Tyrol area alone.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
