Chinese man among five killed in series of avalanches in Austria and Switzerland
- On Friday the Chinese man, said to be skiing off-piste, died in an avalanche in the resort of Soelden. Two others were killed in Austria’s Alpine regions
- In Switzerland, two off-piste skiers were killed by an avalanche on Saturday in the southeastern canton of Graubuenden, police said
Avalanches in Austria and Switzerland have left five people dead, leading officials to warn on Saturday of the risks posed by particularly unstable snow cover.
Three of those killed were visiting Austria’s Alpine regions.
“One winter sports enthusiast was killed in an avalanche in Kaltenbach on Saturday,” a police spokesman told Agence France-Presse, without giving further details of the accident in the small Alpine village.
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Austrian news agency APA reported that the victim was a 17-year-old New Zealander who was skiing off-piste.
On Friday, a 32-year-old Chinese man, who was also said to be skiing away from the designated routes, died in an avalanche in the resort of Soelden.
A third victim was found dead on Saturday after being reported missing the previous day. APA reported that the man, in his 50s, had died in the Kleinwalsertal valley on Austria’s border with Germany.
In Switzerland, two off-piste skiers were killed by an avalanche on Saturday morning in the southeastern region of Graubuenden, police said.
A third member of the group was caught up in the flow of snow but managed to escape unharmed, local police said in a statement.