As large areas of snow and school holidays drew skiers into the Alps over the weekend, nine people died in avalanches as heavy snow and avalanche warnings drew them into unmarked areas in spite of warnings of elevated avalanche danger, according to police reports.
After being swept away by a snow plow on Sunday, it was found that a driver of a snow plow in East Tirol in Austria had died. A 32-year-old Chinese skier died in Oetztal, a 17-year-old New Zealander was buried in Zillertal, while a 55-year-old German man missing since Friday was found dead in Kleinwalsertal. According to authorities, there were more than 12 avalanches reported in the Tirol region alone in Austria, and the warning level had been set by the authorities at four on a scale of five, and caution was advised.
In the South Tirol region of Italy, a 31-year-old German woman died on Saturday when a Snowmass broke loose at about 2,200 meters (7,200 feet) near the Limo Pass some 80 km (50 miles) east of Bolzano, according to the DPA news agency. While rescue efforts were complicated by winds that blew 120 kilometers an hour (75 miles an hour); her body was eventually recovered from under 2.5 meters of snow. An individual who was skiing with her was not injured in the snow.
Besides the two 29-year-old ski guides and their 33-year-old male guests who were also killed in an avalanche in St. Anton in Austria on Saturday, another man died in Kaunertal in a snowslide Saturday. Meanwhile, the 29-year-old guide died at his home while the 33-year-old male guest was on his way to the ski resort.
