Eight skiers killed as three avalanches strike in the space of just four hours in Austria

Eight skiers have died after three avalanches struck across Austria in the space of just four hours.

A female skier was fatally buried by an avalanche in the Bad Hofgastein area in western Austria, at an altitude of about 7,200ft, around 12:30pm Saturday, according to the Pongau mountain rescue service.

The 58-year-old’s husband reportedly called in the incident, but efforts to revive her failed. 

Roughly 90 minutes later, an avalanche struck the 7,050ft-high Finsterkopf mountain in the Gastein Valley, south of the city of Salzburg.

It tragically swept away seven people. Four were killed, two seriously injured, and one escaped unharmed.

The four deceased included three men aged 53, 63, and 65, and a woman aged 60.

It has since been revealed that the group was part of a course organised by the Austrian Alpine Club. The course was part of a regular winter training program, the group stated. 

‘In our courses, risk competence and safety awareness are paramount. This tragedy is deeply painful,’ said Jörg Randl, head of the mountaineering department of the Austrian Alpine Club. 

In the town of Pusterwald in central Austria, three Czech skiers were killed in an avalanche shortly before 4:30pm, police said. Four of their companions were evacuated to safety.

‘This tragedy painfully demonstrates how serious the current avalanche situation is,’ said Gerhard Kremser, district head of the Pongau mountain rescue service, noting the ‘clear and repeated warnings’ about avalanche risk.

According to reports, more than 200 helpers and mountain rescuers assisted in recovering the dead and airlifting the injured to hospitals across the three incidents.

A dog unit, a Red Cross crisis intervention team, and several helicopters from the rescue service and police were on site. Some of the deceased will not be recovered until Sunday due to avalanche warnings.

In the avalanche-affected regions of Styria and Salzburg, warning levels two and three, respectively, were in effect on Saturday.

In the area of ​​the accident near Pusterwald in Styria, the avalanche warning level was two out of five on Sunday. 

The avalanche danger in the higher elevations was assessed as moderate by the avalanche warning service. 

The Austrian mountain rescue service describes the current avalanche situation as ‘precarious.’ 

The spate of tragedies that struck on Saturday came just five days after a 13-year-old was killed by an avalanche while skiing off-piste in the alpine resort of Bad Gastein. 

The Czech teen was with another minor on Tuesday when the snow flurry swept him away at around midday, according to Bad Gastein’s mountain rescue chief, Andreas Kandler.

Rescuers were unable to revive him.

According to the Alpine Police, a total of 13 people have lost their lives in avalanches this season as of Sunday. 

‘Basically, every victim is one too many. However, there are always avalanche seasons, you could say – after snowfall with wind, when the snow is redistributed,’ head of the Alpine Police, Hans Ebner said.

It also follows a month marked by several avalanches across the Alps following several days of heavy snow.

A 58-year-old ski tourer died last Sunday in an avalanche in the Tyrolean resort of Weerberg in the west.

Also, last week, six skiers died in France after being caught in several avalanches in various alpine resorts.

A British man in his 50s is among those killed in the French Alps over the weekend.

The Briton was skiing off-piste at the La Plagne resort in south-eastern France when rescue teams received an avalanche alert.

A team of 50 people, including medics, ski school instructors, and helicopter-deployed piste dogs, was called in.

The man was located after 50 minutes, buried under eight feet of snow, but could not be revived, the resort said in a statement on its website.

He was with a group when the avalanche struck, but was not equipped with an avalanche transceiver and was not with a professional instructor, it added.

Separately in France, a 32-year-old skier died in an avalanche in Vallorcine, Haute-Savoie, after being swept away by an avalanche over the weekend.

French weather forecasters had warned of a high risk of avalanches this weekend. Officials in the Savoie region recorded at least six avalanches in the department’s ski areas on Sunday morning.

Gerhard Kremser, the mountain rescue chief in Pongau, central Austria, this week urged winter sports enthusiasts to exercise caution above the tree line.