There have been numerous avalanche accidents in the Alps.
Emergency services could only save some skiers dead.
The bodies of other winter sports enthusiasts were discovered on Sunday.
Avalanche danger in the Alps: Several avalanches went off over the weekend.
Tour goer from Bavaria dies: A young woman from Upper Bavaria also died in an accident.
This news ticker on avalanche accidents in the Alps is updated regularly.
Update from February 5, 9:54 p.m .:
As the Tyrolean state police announced, another avalanche was triggered in Schmirn, Innsbruck-Land district, on Sunday, completely burying two people.
A group of six friends of ski tourers had previously been heading towards the "Hohe Warte" mountain.
Due to the high risk of avalanches, the group had not planned to continue the tour to the summit from the start.
After some time, the six friends finally decided to cancel the tour and drive back down into the valley.
They made sure to ride alone so as not to trigger an avalanche.
However, the fourth person, a 53-year-old Tyrolean, eventually experienced a remote triggering of the slope.
The man was only partially buried and was able to free himself.
Three of the friends, who had been waiting a little below for the rest of the group, tried to escape the avalanche, but two women, aged 54 and 49, were completely buried.
So only one hand of the Innsbrucker and German stuck out of the snow.
Both were then freed by another person from the group.
In the incident, the 49-year-old German suffered a minor wrist injury, while the 53-year-old Tyrolean had to be taken to hospital with an ambulance helicopter with a knee injury.
Sad weekend balance for Austria and South Tyrol: Eight people die in avalanche accidents
Update from February 5, 8:35 p.m .:
Austria and South Tyrol have to draw a sad balance after this weekend.
Numerous avalanches have been triggered on a number of ski slopes since Friday, with 30 avalanche reports received in the Tyrolean control center on Saturday alone.
In eleven of them it is suspected that people were involved, in nine cases people were partially or completely buried.
While a 15-year-old escaped with serious injuries in the Kitzbühel district on Friday, numerous skiers did not survive the avalanches at the weekend.
Eight people died in total.
On Friday, a 32-year-old Chinese skier was killed by the snow masses in the Tyrolean Ötztal, on Saturday a 17-year-old skier from New Zealand died in an avalanche in the Zillertal.
In the Kaunertal, a ski tourer was reported missing on Saturday when his dog returned home alone without his master.
The 62-year-old could then only be recovered dead.
The same applies to a snow plow driver in East Tyrol who was caught in an avalanche and killed while clearing his tractor.
A 31-year-old ski tourer from Bavaria was also on Saturday morning on the Limojoch in South Tyrol with another woman when an avalanche went off.
While her companion remained unharmed, the young Bavarian died.
On Sunday morning, a ski guide (29) and an Austrian guest (33) were found dead in St. Anton am Arlberg.
The two had been missing since Saturday, but the high risk of avalanches made it impossible for emergency services to carry out search operations in many cases.
The last avalanche so far occurred on Sunday morning, also here three people were involved, one of whom was buried by the snow masses.
However, despite a rescue operation, the person died.
In the past few days, the avalanche warning level in Tyrol was 4 on a scale of 5.
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A helicopter flies over a mountain railing in the Längenfeld area after an avalanche.
Several people were killed by avalanches in the mountains over the weekend.
© Zoom.Tirol/dpa
Avalanche departure in the Ötztal
Update from February 5, 1:55 p.m
.: In Tyrol (Austria), the mountain rescuers are still required because of avalanches.
A deadly avalanche drama broke out in Ötztal on Sunday morning.
In Längenfeld, an avalanche was reported in the Geigenkamm area around 10:25 am.
Three winter sports enthusiasts were involved – one of them was buried.
According to the control center, it was initially rescued from the masses of snow, reports the ORF.
According to police, the person has now died.
Avalanche dead in Austria: bodies of two winter sports enthusiasts recovered in St. Anton am Arlberg
Update from February 5, 12:58 p.m
.: The bodies of two buried winter sports enthusiasts were discovered in St. Anton am Arlberg on Sunday morning, reports the ORF.
The two were buried by a slab avalanche on Saturday at around 10.30 a.m. in open terrain on the "Törli" variant descent.
The search operation had to be interrupted on Saturday due to the high risk of avalanches.
Even after an avalanche blast, the search was too dangerous for the mountain rescuers.
On Sunday, in another attempt, the bodies of the two missing persons - a ski guide (29) and an Austrian guest (33) - were recovered from the snow masses.
Ski tourer (31) from Bavaria died in an avalanche in South Tyrol
Update from February 5, 11:58 a.m
.: The fresh snow in the Alps has claimed another fatality.
A German ski tourer died in an avalanche in South Tyrol, according to the South Tyrolean mountain rescue service.
The 31-year-old from Bavaria was traveling with another woman on the Limojoch on Saturday morning when an avalanche went off.
The 31-year-old ski tourer was found under the snow masses at a depth of about 2.5 meters.
According to the mountain rescuers, resuscitation measures were unsuccessful.
The second woman was unharmed and was being cared for by emergency chaplains.
"The avalanche itself wasn't particularly big, about 50 by 70 meters and the terrain wasn't particularly steep either," writes the mountain rescue service on Facebook.
Another group of German tourers immediately rushed to help the two women.
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South Tyrol: ski tourer (31) from Bavaria died in an avalanche.
© Facebook Screenshot/ Soccorso Alpino Alto Adige
40 mountain rescue teams went to the scene of the accident with snowmobiles, caterpillar vehicles and a rescue helicopter.
This was around 80 kilometers east of Bozen, near the border with the Veneto region.
According to the mountain rescue service, the helicopter had to fly back due to gusts of wind up to 120 kilometers per hour.
Austria: Two more avalanche deaths in Tyrol
Update from February 5, 10:53 a.m .:
His dog came home alone on Saturday.
Now there is sad certainty about another avalanche victim.
During a search operation in Kaunerberg (Landeck district), according to the ORF, a body was recovered under snow masses.
It is said to be the 62-year-old missing ski tourer.
In St. Anton am Arlberg (Austria) the search for two buried people continues.
Also particularly tragic: A snowplough driver in East Tyrol was hit by an avalanche.
The man could only be recovered dead after a search operation in the night, the Tyrol police announced on Sunday.
During snow clearing work in Debanttal (Lienz district), the man was buried by an avalanche with his tractor on Saturday.
The emergency doctor could only determine the death of the missing person.
Further details about the accident are not yet known.
Avalanche deaths in Austria: rescuers rescue young skiers – dramatic search for three buried people is underway
Update from February 5, 8:47 a.m.:
The avalanche situation in Austria is delicate.
There are already several fatalities.
The search for three buried people had to be interrupted on Saturday on the Arlberg in St. Anton and in Kaunerberg (Landeck district) - too dangerous.
The search will continue on Sunday.
Avalanche accidents in Austria: Search for buried people too dangerous
A slab avalanche broke loose in St. Anton am Arlberg on Saturday at around 10:30 a.m.
A ski guide (29) and a 33-year-old Austrian were carried away by the avalanche in open terrain on the "Törli" variant descent, the police reports.
Both were completely buried.
According to ORF, the avalanche beepers of the two were located by a helicopter overflight.
Due to the high risk of avalanches, an immediate search operation on Saturday was impossible.
Even after an avalanche blast, the situation in this area was too dangerous.
In Tyrol, 30 avalanches were reported in the control center on Saturday by 5:30 p.m., presumably in nine cases people were partially or completely buried.
Ski tourers suspected of being under an avalanche: the dog came home alone
In the Kaunertal, a ski tourer is suspected to be under an avalanche.
After the 62-year-old's dog came home alone around 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, the family alerted the emergency services.
The missing person is suspected under an avalanche on the southeast side of the Hohe Aifnerspitze.
According to the police, a search operation using an avalanche transceiver, involving the police helicopter, the alpine police and an avalanche dog handler with a search dog, was unsuccessful.
But here, too, a ground search by the Alpine Police and the Kaunertal Mountain Rescue Service was initially too dangerous because of the acute danger of avalanches in the steep and extensive terrain.
On Saturday evening, the rescue workers stopped the search around 5.30 p.m.
It is scheduled to continue on Sunday.
An avalanche death in Kaltenbach in the Hochzillertal ski area is a 17-year-old vacationer from New Zealand (see first report).
The teenager had apparently skied off the closed runway number 3.
He was found dead by the piste rescue and relatives on Saturday afternoon.
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Avalanche accidents in Austria: In St. Anton am Arlberg, the search for buried people continues on Sunday.
© Austria OUT/afp
Avalanche deaths in Austria: emergency services rescue young skiers - the second in a short time
First report from February 4, 2023:
Zillertal - In large parts of Austria there is the second highest avalanche warning level.
Some skiers have deviated from the slopes in the last few days - and could only be recovered dead.
Even the searches are sometimes not possible for hours due to the avalanche danger.
Austria: Emergency services rescue young skiers dead – already the second
Despite all the warnings of great avalanche danger, skiers in Austria have left the secured slopes, sometimes with fatal consequences.
According to the police, in the Zillertal in Tyrol on Saturday (February 4th) a young skier could only be found dead under the snow masses.
A winter sportsman who had been missing since Friday evening had previously been found lifeless under an avalanche in Kleinwalsertal.
"People are very irresponsible on the go and always in the free ski area - they just don't believe it," said a spokesman for the authorities in Vorarlberg.
Further searches and rescued skiers: search temporarily interrupted
On the Arlberg, a search for two possibly buried skiers was interrupted for several hours on Saturday because the danger of further avalanches had become too great for the rescue workers.
Also on the Arlberg, a 15-year-old winter athlete was rescued alive after an avalanche in the open ski area after fifteen minutes under the snow and flown to the hospital.
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Due to the threat of avalanches, roads in Austria were closed at the weekend (here: Styria).
Skiers were also buried under the masses of snow.
© Energienetze Steiermark/APA/dpa
In Tyrol, a 32-year-old Chinese skier died in an avalanche in Ötztal on Friday, and a 15-year-old was swept away by an avalanche in the Kitzbühel district and was seriously injured.
Road traffic was also severely hampered.
The ÖAMTC traffic club counted 17 roadblocks in the morning due to the risk of avalanches.
Fresh snow and danger of avalanches: In Germany, too, there are warnings about falling snow masses
In the past few days, more than one meter of fresh snow had fallen regionally in Austria.
Travelers and winter sports enthusiasts were often called upon to exercise caution.
But prudence is not only required in the Austrian ski areas.
Clear snowfall is also expected in Germany over the weekend (February 4th and 5th).
There is also a risk of avalanches here.
However, this should only be a short winter pleasure.
Then a sunny weather change is announced.
(chd/dpa)
List of rubrics: © Zoom.Tirol/dpa
