Vienna (Austria), February 5: Several skiers have died in separate incidents in Austria after officials issued warnings of a heightened danger of avalanches.
In Zillertal, Tyrol, police said the body of a young skier had been recovered from beneath masses of snow.
Rescue workers in the western Austrian mountains recovered the body of another man from under an avalanche on Saturday following heavy snowfall, police said.
The search for the man in the Kleinwalsertal valley began on Friday evening after numerous avalanches were reported, especially in the Tyrol region.
On the Arlberg massif, a search for two people who officials feared had been buried was initially suspended as heavy snowfall and wind posed an increased risk to rescue teams.
The latest accidents came after a 32-year-old Chinese skier died in an avalanche in the Ötztal valley in Tyrol on Friday, while a 15-year-old was swept away by an avalanche and seriously injured in the Kitzbühel district.
The authorities appealed to winter sports enthusiasts to be exercise great caution. At higher altitudes, the avalanche danger level reached four on the five-point scale on Saturday.
Road traffic was also severely hampered by the wintery weather.
Austria's ÖAMTC traffic club said 17 roads were closed due to avalanche danger during the morning, and that snow chains were compulsory for cars on 46 sections of road.
Source: Qatar Tribune
