Five skiers killed in Austrian Alps avalanche

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Rescue teams search for people buried by an avalanche at the Wattener Lizum, Austria, on February 6. Photo: AFP

Published: 11:26pm, 7 Feb 2016Updated: 11:26pm, 7 Feb 2016

Five skiers from the Czech Republic have been killed in an avalanche at a popular Austrian resort, a police spokesman has said.

A group of 17 skiers from the Czech Republic were buried on Saturday after the 2km-wide avalanche in Wattental valley in the western Alpine region of Tirol.

Two people were injured but out of acute danger, while 10 others survived unharmed, police said.

READ MORE: Teenagers on school skiing trip are swept to their doom by avalanche in French Alps

The experienced Czech skiers were taking part in a so-called “freeride camp” and had been repeatedly warned about the avalanche danger by locals, according to regional TV station ORF.

A rescue helicopter lifted two bodies after an avalanche swept away a group of backcountry skiers in a military restricted area at the Wattener Lizum in the Austian Alps, south of Innsbruck. Photo: EPA

The avalanche occurred shortly after midday near a mountain in Lizumer Hütte, local media reported. The avalanche risk level in Tirol on Saturday morning was three out of a possible five, deemed “considerable”.

Austrian TV channel ORF said there were two ski groups from the Czech Republic caught up in the snowslide, including two guides. Helicopters and search dogs were deployed to rescue the injured.