Skiers hit by avalanches in the Alps: four dead

Sondrio (Italian) – The Winter Olympics are being overshadowed by drama: dangerous avalanches broke out in several regions of northern Italy on Saturday – from Trentino through Lombardy to the Aosta Valley. The bitter conclusion: four people are dead. According to the authorities, there were also several injured.

Trentino and Lombardy were hit hardest. According to the Italian broadcaster RAI, two people were killed in both regions. Another ski tourer is fighting for survival in the hospital in the Alpine town of Sondrio.

Where the avalanches fell

The first alarm was received in Trentino: According to media reports, near the town of Forte Buso, which is only a few kilometers away from the Olympic ski jump in Predazzo a group of four ski hikers hit by an avalanche. Two of them escaped with minor injuries, the other two were seriously injured. One of them has since died in hospital.

Another one followed just a few hours later Death: About 25 kilometers as the crow flies northeast of Predazzo, another avalanche claimed a life on Marmolada, the highest mountain in the Dolomites. One was also recorded in the Alpine region of Valtellina in Lombardy, right on the border with Switzerland avalanche three people, two of whom died. According to RAI, the two dead are two men (35, 47). The condition of a 53-year-old who was flown by helicopter to a clinic in Sondrio is serious.

German also hit by avalanche

In the Aosta Valley, two ski tourers narrowly escaped death: near the Frassati hut near Saint-Rhémy-en-Bosses they were hit by falling snow, but were able to free themselves and remained uninjured. Three other people were traveling with them. There is also a German in Piedmont Ski hikers was caught in an avalanche but was not buried.

From the danger in the Alps was already warned in advance: On Saturday, warning level 3 applied on the five-level European scale (1 for minor, 3 for significant, 5 for very major) for impending avalanches.