The death toll from avalanches in Austria rose to seven over the weekend after two more bodies were found on Saturday in the Alps, as the country experienced heavy snowfall that complicated rescue operations and increased the risks for skiers.
Details of recent incidents
Police in the Styria region reported a tragic accident in which a 21-year-old Slovakian man was killed. According to initial investigations, the young man was skiing off-piste and without any avalanche safety equipment. A large chunk of snow broke off from the slope above him, burying him instantly.
In a separate incident in Tyrol province, a 41-year-old Austrian man was swept away and completely buried by an avalanche. Although rescue teams were able to extract him and transport him to the hospital, he later died from his serious injuries, according to regional police.
The snowstorm and its impact on transportation
These successive incidents come amid severe weather conditions in Austria, where the country has experienced snowfall reaching up to 40 centimeters in some mountainous areas since Thursday. The storm has caused power outages in several regions and widespread disruption to transportation, making it difficult for emergency services to reach accident sites in a timely manner.
Authorities' warnings and the dangers of free skiing
In response to this wave of fatal accidents, authorities in Tyrol and Vorarlberg issued strong warnings to winter sports enthusiasts. Officials urged skiers to stick to designated and marked trails and avoid rough terrain or off-piste skiing at this time, given the unstable nature of the newly formed snow.
Reports indicate that skiing off-piste without sufficient experience or tracking equipment (such as avalanche transceivers) is a major risk, especially with current weather fluctuations that raise the avalanche risk to critical levels.
General context and winter season in the Alps
The Austrian Alps are a major global winter tourism destination, yet they experience similar incidents every year that claim dozens of lives. With the latest accidents, the total number of deaths from avalanches in Austria this winter has risen to 24, a figure that reflects the severity of the current season.
Friday alone saw five people killed (four in Tyrol and one in Vorarlberg) by storm-induced avalanches, in addition to a separate incident in the northern town of Linz where a man died after a snowplow fell on him, making this weekend one of the deadliest periods of the current ski season.
