Police in Tyrol, Austria, said a father and son were killed in a sudden avalanche around lunchtime on Thursday.
A group of four people – a father, his two sons and a friend of the family – had set out from Schwendberg near Hippach on backcountry skis to the Roskopf mountain peak.
Just before noon the group were trying to descend a steep east peak in single file, part of exercises aimed at reducing avalanche risk, police said in a statement.
“During their descent, a large chunk of ice broke off and carried the 51-year-old father and his 22-year-old son about 300 metres, completely burying both of them,” police said.
A major rescue effort began, involving two rescue helicopters, a police helicopter, dog handlers, 33 mountain rescuers and two alpine police officers.
About an hour after the avalanche, the 22-year-old man was located under the snow, but could not be revived. Police said the father was pulled out after about 20 minutes and was beyond resuscitation.
Level 3 avalanche warning in parts of Tyrol
Heavy rain before Christmas forced Austrian authorities to raise the avalanche warning level to 3 on a 5-step scale.
Although this level classifies the danger only as “considerable”, not as “high” or “very high” at 4 or 5, according to the European Avalanche Warning Service, about half of fatal avalanche accidents occur in these conditions. .
Level 3 warnings can often remain in effect for up to a third of the season.
msh/jsi (dpa, open source)
