At least ten people have been killed in avalanches in the past two days in the mountainous regions of Austria and Switzerland, according to a new toll from local authorities, who reported dozens of incidents over the weekend.
The previous balance accounted for eight fatalities from avalanches since Saturday.
In the case of Switzerland, two bodies of two skiers – a 56-year-old woman and a 52-year-old man – were found off-piste in the canton of Graubünden on Saturday.
A third skier was unharmed, local public television reported.
Austrian authorities also reported on Saturday the deaths of three people of Chinese, German and New Zealand descent, the latter aged 17, all victims of avalanches that occurred on the slopes.
On Sunday, authorities found the body of a 62-year-old skier who disappeared in Kaunerberg and two other bodies in Saint Anton am Arlberg.
Authorities also confirmed the death of a 59-year-old man who was buried while driving a snowplow in the Tyrol region.
According to the ORF network, authorities were notified of more than 30 avalanches in Tyrol on Saturday alone.
Authorities set the alert level at four on a scale of five and urged skiers to avoid steep or potentially dangerous terrain.
In Tyrol and neighboring Vorarlberg, civil protection services have raised the alarm due to the occurrence of wind and snowfall.
However, the alert level of four on a scale of five did not deter many tourists from venturing out, authorities said.
School holidays have started in Vienna in February and the estancias are filling up after a dismal start to the season, marked by the absence of snow at low and medium altitudes.
In Austria, a top winter sports destination, snowslides have caused an average of 20 deaths annually in recent years.
Source: DN
