Two avalanches hit two groups of ski tourers in Austria over the weekend. Any help came too late for three people.
Salzburg – Two avalanches claimed three lives in Austria on Saturday and injured several ski tourers. Three members of a group of eleven were buried and killed on the Lackenspitze near Tweng in Salzburg’s Lungau, the police said.
The young people from Austria, all under 30 years old, are likely to have triggered an avalanche on the ascent to about 2400 meters above the summit, it was said.
A slab of snow 200 meters wide and 500 meters long went off and carried a total of eight people with it. The three people buried were partially four and a half meters under the snow. The other five were not buried, but some were injured. Two of the three people buried were recovered dead, another could be reanimated and taken to the hospital, but died there, the police also announced.
In Styria, too, two Austrian ski tourers were swept away by an avalanche on Saturday. A 29-year-old was partially buried on the Sonntagskogel. He was rescued and taken to the hospital. His 27-year-old companion was hit by the avalanche, but was able to deploy her avalanche airbag and was not buried. dpa
