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Rescue workers from the mountain rescue service near the accident site on the Feldberg
Photo: Bergwacht Schwarzwald / dpa
The renewed onset of winter in large parts of Germany prompted many people to go out into the snow at the weekend.
A fatal accident occurred in the Black Forest: A 27-year-old woman broke into a so-called snow hole on the Feldberg and died a little later in hospital.
The woman went on a snow hike with a companion there on Sunday when she fell into a hole about three meters deep that had been covered by the snow.
The hole was created by a river running under the blanket of snow, the police said on Monday.
The woman could only be recovered hours later by rescue workers and died a little later in the hospital.
The steep terrain, bad weather and the onset of darkness had made the rescue work of the mountain rescue service, police and volunteer fire brigade difficult.
An avalanche after the accident also delayed the rescue, as a spokeswoman for the mountain rescue service said.
The woman's 28-year-old companion was unharmed, but suffered a shock.
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zob / dpa