At least 5 killed in a string of avalanches in western Austria

VIENNA, Austria — At least five people have been killed in a string of avalanches in western Austria, authorities said Saturday.

The government office of the Tyrol region said intense snowfall over the last week led to accumulations of up to 1.5 meters (5 feet). Combined with windy conditions and weak snowpack below, the conditions were especially susceptible to avalanches, it said.

Tyrol police said five off-piste skiers were caught up in a nearly 450 meter- (about 490 yards) wide avalanche Friday afternoon in the St. Anton am Arlberg area at an altitude of about 2,000 meters (about 6,500 feet).

An American and a Pole were among the five recovered dead after the avalanche, and a 21-year-old Austrian died of injuries after being rushed to hospital, police said.

Dozens of mountain-rescue team members, ambulance and fire department staffers, as well as several dog squads, were deployed for the operation.

Late Friday morning in the Nauders-Bergkastel resort to the southeast, a 42-year-old German man and his 16-year-old son were caught in an avalanche. The teen survived with injuries and called for help, but his father was killed.

In Klösterle in the neighboring Vorarlberg region, a 39-year-old Swiss snowboarder was caught and killed by an avalanche in an off-piste area, regional police said.

“The recent snowfall is currently drawing many people to the mountains – even off-piste,” Tyrol governor Anton Mattle said in a statement. “It is painful that we have already had to record several avalanches with injuries and fatalities.”

His office said nearly three dozen avalanche incidents were reported on Friday, among more than 200 over the last week. So far, 11 people have lost their lives in avalanches this month, the governor’s office said.

“No relief is in sight for Sunday either,” the region office said. “The weather remains turbulent.”