In a series of avalanches, three people have died in the tourist west of Austria since Friday, as the season is in full swing and the authorities are warning of the risks of a particularly unstable snow cover.
“A winter athlete died in an avalanche in Kaltenbach on Saturday,” said a spokesman for the Tyrolean police to AFP, refusing to provide information about the circumstances of the accident.
According to the Austrian press agency APA, he is a 17-year-old New Zealand national who plays off-piste.
On Friday, a 32-year-old Chinese died in an avalanche in the holiday resort of Sölden.
On Saturday morning, another skier, who was reported missing the day before the lifts closed, was found dead in neighboring Vorarlberg, according to police interviewed by AFP, who declined to give more details.
According to the Austrian agency APA, he is a mid-something who died in Kleinwalsertal on the border with Germany.
Heavy snowfall and wind have increased the avalanche danger in Tyrol and Vorarlberg in the past two days.
Specialists from the warning service of these two popular regions call on winter sports enthusiasts to be careful.
The alert level of four on a scale of five hasn’t stopped many holidaymakers leaving marked trails, authorities say.
This avalanche situation led to numerous rescue operations on Saturday, which were endangered by the weather conditions.
The February school holidays have started in Vienna and ski resorts have filled up after a dismal start to the season marked by lack of snow at low and medium elevations.
In Austria, a leading winter sports destination, snow slides have claimed an annual average of around twenty lives in recent years.