Austria avalanches claim five lives in three days

VIENNA — Avalanches killed five people over the past three days in western Austria’s Tyrol region, police said on Monday.

Austrian ski resorts have remained open despite the country’s third coronavirus lockdown as the government says outdoor sports pose little risk of infection.

But authorities in the Tyrol region had warned on Thursday of an increased risk of avalanches due to rain and snowfall combined with strong winds and changes in temperature.

The latest death came on Monday when a 68-year-old local man died in the Kellerjoch area, a Tyrol police spokeswoman told AFP.

Earlier police had announced that a 37-year-old man and a 38-year-old woman, both from the region, were killed in an avalanche at an altitude of 2,100 metres in the Sellrain district on Saturday.

On Saturday the police had also announced the death of a 16-year-old German boy in the Kuehtai area.

He did not have any detection equipment and was skiing off piste with two friends at an altitude of more than 2,600 metres when he was struck by loose snow.

A 48-year-old Austrian was also killed by an avalanche on Saturday while cross-country skiing in the resort of Axamer Lizum.

Four further avalanches were also reported in Tyrol on Saturday but did not cause any deaths.

In recent years an average of around 20 people have been killed annually by avalanches in Austria.

For the winter of 2019-2020 the number was lower, at 13, in part due to the season being cut short by the first coronavirus lockdown.