The deaths represent part of a broader wave of avalanche activity in the region. Authorities reported nearly three dozen avalanche incidents on Friday alone, with more than 200 recorded over the past week. The monthly toll from avalanches in Tyrol has reached at least 11 deaths so far, according to regional officials.
At least five people were killed in a string of avalanches in western Austria on Friday, authorities said. Intense snowfall and unstable snow conditions created especially hazardous terrain across the Tyrol region, where heavy precipitation over the past week had drawn crowds of skiers and snowboarders to mountain areas.
The deaths represent part of a wider pattern of avalanche activity in the region. Authorities reported nearly three dozen avalanche incidents on Friday alone, with more than 200 recorded over the past week. The monthly toll from avalanches in Tyrol has reached at least 11 deaths so far, according to regional officials.
Major Incidents
Late Friday afternoon, five off-piste skiers were caught in a nearly 450-meter-wide avalanche at St. Anton am Arlberg, at an altitude of about 2,000 meters (6,500 feet), police said. Three of the five were killed: an American and a Polish national were recovered dead at the scene, and a 21-year-old Austrian died of injuries after being rushed to hospital.
In a separate incident, a 42-year-old German man and his 16-year-old son were caught in an avalanche late Friday morning at the Nauders-Bergkastel resort to the southeast. The teen survived with injuries and called for help. His father was killed.
A 39-year-old Swiss snowboarder was caught and killed by an avalanche in an off-piste area in Klösterle, in the neighboring Vorarlberg region, regional police said.
Weather Conditions and Response
Tyrol’s government office attributed the dangerous conditions to accumulated snowfall of up to 1.5 meters (about 5 feet) over the past week. Combined with windy conditions and a weak snowpack below, these factors created terrain highly susceptible to avalanches, officials said.
Dozens of mountain-rescue team members, ambulance and fire department staffers, and several dog squads were deployed for search and rescue efforts.
“The recent snowfall is currently drawing many people to the mountains — even off-piste,” Tyrol Governor Anton Mattle said in a statement. “It is painful that we have already had to record several avalanches with injuries and fatalities.”
The regional office said conditions are expected to remain hazardous through Sunday.