Five dead in tragedies on Alps
SNOW has continued to plague the regions surrounding the European Alps, with five deaths reported in Austria and France as forecasts predicted more bad weather.
Officials in Austria have reported three Germans died and one was missing after they went skiing near the city of Lech. They were struck by an avalanche after they went on a route that had been put offlimits due to such dangers.
Authorities were still searching for a fourth man, a 28-year-old from southern Germany. The deceased were identified as men, aged 32, 36 and 57, also from southern Germany. The dead had suffered multiple injuries and showed signs of suffocation, despite deploying rescue airbags.
The search for the fourth man had to be broken off on Sunday due to the risk of more avalanches.
In France, two ski slope employees died were trying while using explosives as part of a common procedure to minimise the chance of avalanches. The two men died when the blast went off unexpectedly.
The tragedies come less than a week after Australian Max Meyer, 16, died in an avalanche in Austria.