Photo credit: 10 News
An avalanche in high alpine terrain in Italy’s South Tyrol on Saturday killed two skiers, according to the country’s mountain rescue service.
APA reports that the avalanche happened at an altitude of around 7, 874 feet on the slopes of the 8,757-foot Hohe Ferse near the town of Ratschings, close to the border with Austria.
The CNSAS rescue service’s Bolzano emergency centre reported that 25 skiers were caught in the avalanche. Besides the two dead, three were seriously injured, and two were lightly injured, it said.
This season has witnessed an unusually high number of avalanche-related deaths. European Avalanche Warning Services reports on its website avalanches.org that fatalities average 100 per season. As of March 16, reported deaths this season starting on Oct. 1 were at 127, including 33 in Italy, 31 in France and 29 in Austria.
