- Avalanches took their toll over the weekend.
- Several injured people were also recorded during avalanches in various resorts.
- Authorities warned of increased avalanche danger and advised not to ski off the slopes.
Three skiers died in avalanches in the French Alps on Sunday. This happened only a day after three other skiers died in similar accidents, the DPA agency reported to the local media. An avalanche also claimed one victim in Austria.
In the French ski resort of La Plagne, masses of snow buried a Briton aged around 50. 52 rescuers, search dogs and a helicopter were sent to the scene, but it took 50 minutes to find the man trapped under a layer of snow 2.5 meters high. Attempts to revive him failed.
In the nearby Courchevel ski resort, an avalanche swept away one person in the morning, who was found dead. The details of this accident are not known. A 32-year-old man died in an avalanche near the village of Vallorcine, located near the Swiss border. He was skiing off-piste and the avalanche pressed him against a tree. He later succumbed to his injuries. The regional newspaper Le Dauphiné libéré reported several injured skiers and snowboarders in the resorts of Tignes and Orelle.
Several avalanches occurred in the Savoy region on Sunday. The local prefect stated on her Facebook page that by 12:30 p.m. rescue services had intervened in six avalanches in different areas. She warned that the avalanche danger will remain high in the coming days and advised against skiing off-piste.
Several avalanches also fell in Austria over the weekend. In the federal state of Tyrol, an avalanche near the village of Weerberg swept away a 58-year-old Austrian woman who managed to be pulled out of the snow, but died later in hospital.
In the Zürs am Arlberg resort in Vorarlberg, two German skiers aged 60 and 55, who were airlifted to the hospital, triggered an avalanche on Sunday. Near Kitzbühel, a 17-year-old German triggered an avalanche approximately 350 meters long and 120 meters wide. Thanks to the avalanche airbag, he survived without injury.
