Three skiers killed in avalanches in Austria

three skiers diedin separate avalanches that occurred in the last few hours, in the regions of Tyrol and Vorarlberg, two of the nine federated states that make up the Republic of Austria.

As reported this Saturday by the Europa Press news agency, one of the victims died after being buried by snow in the municipality of Kaltenbach in the Schwaz district (Tyrol).

It is a 17-year-old New Zealand tourist who skied alone, according to the police authorities, cited by the German newspaper ‘Die Presse’, based in Vienna.

The body of another middle-aged man was also found in the morning under the snow in the Alpine valley of Kleinwalsertal (Vorarlberg) and the latest victim is a 32-year-old Chinese skier who died in another avalanche in the Oetztal valley. , also in that region of the Alps, famous as a ski and hiking resort, said the dpa agency.

Likewise, the cases of two other missing people were reported in the Tyrolean town of St. Anton Am Arlberg, known for being the gateway to the Arlberg ski area, the “cradle of alpine skiing”, but the rescue operation was suspended due to danger to emergency personnel.

For his part, in Warth am Arlberg, a 15-year-old teenager was rescued alive after 15 minutes in the snow and was transferred to the hospital in Zams. “There are many irresponsible people who go skiing,” explained a spokesman for Vorarlberg’s control center, Adi Rohrer, quoted by ‘Die Presse’.

The storms and strong winds have raised the avalanche warning level in Austria to 4 on a scale of 5 and so far 17 avalanches have been recorded, of which nine affected only in the Tyrol area.

A precedent in Argentina

In July 2022, in Mendoza, on one of the ski slopes of Las Leñas, the publicist Juan José Alejandro Cravero (59), partner of the Craverolanis agency, and his friend César Jorge Lago (42), businessman from San Isidro.

The episode for which the wounded man had to be transferred could have resulted in a greater tragedy. The intervention of other skiers, including a doctor, instructors and slope personnel, was decisive for the rescue of two people who were trapped.

Snow was falling down a hillside as Cravero, Lago and another friend identified as Matías descended the Ceñidor slope (for off-piste free skiing) at the convergence of the Neptuno and Venus slopes of the ski complex in southern Mendoza.

The three skiers were swept away by the avalanche and Cravero and Lago were buried in the snow. Thanks to the intervention of other tourists and trackers, who operate in that place as technical personnel, they managed to save them.

With information from Telam

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