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Police helicopter at the scene of the accident on the Hintertux Glacier in the Zillertal
Photo: Zoom.Tirol / dpa
A woman died skiing in Austria on New Year's Day and two others were seriously injured.
A 28-year-old Dutch woman fell on a steep slope on the Hintertux Glacier, broke through a safety fence and went over the edge of the slope.
She died at the scene of the accident, a police spokesman for the APA news agency said.
Her 27-year-old companion also fell and was seriously injured.
About half an hour later, a 55-year-old German fell in the same place and also suffered serious injuries.
Like the Dutch woman, she was flown to a hospital in a rescue helicopter.
The accidents happened in the morning on a very steep, icy section, writes "Tirol ORF", citing police information.
As the Austrian newspaper "Der Standard" reports, citing experts, several factors are currently coming together that make skiing sometimes dangerous.
There is hardly any snow next to the slopes, which leads to less safe fall areas.
In addition, the snow on the slopes is often artificial, which in combination with rainy weather at higher altitudes can sometimes make the slopes icier and more dangerous.
ani/AFP/dpa