Alps snow: at least Seven dead as heavy snow hits Germany and Austria with high avalanche risk

Asher McShane8 January 2019

At least seven people have died as heavy snowfall hit parts of Austria and Germany with alerts issued for avalanches.

A 28-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman who went missing while snowshoeing were found dead near Salzburg in central Austria, while about 40 rescuers with dogs were still searching for two others who went missing while snowshoeing near Hohenberg in Lower Austria, the Austrian news agency APA reported.

In Germany, 44-year-old man died in Wackersberg in Bavaria when he was hit by tree branches brought down by heavy snow, police said.

Authorities also said that a woman who was buried by an avalanche last week in the Uri canton of Switzerland died of her injuries over the weekend.

A women shovels snow from the rooftop of her house in Austria (REUTERS)
Reuters

Three skiers in Austria were killed by avalanches and one woman in Bavaria died in a weather-related incident over the weekend as well.

The Hochkar alpine road and the entire Hochkar skiing region in Lower Austria were closed because of the high risk of avalanches. Residents and visitors were asked to leave the region by the end of the day.

Austrian authorities warned skiers not to go off the slopes and not drive their cars unless needed.

A further four feet of snow is forecast for the coming days and the alpine country said it was getting mountaineer teams and helicopters ready for possible rescue missions.

In Bavaria, authorities also had to close roads and some train lines because of heavy snowfall and in some parts of southern Bavaria and the Steiermark region in Austria, schools were closed Monday because of the weather conditions.

Police in Norway on Monday released the names of four skiers - a 29-year Swedish woman and three Finns, aged 29, 32 and 36 - who are presumed dead after a 300-meter-wide (990-foot-wide) avalanche was reported Wednesday in Tamok valley, near the northern city of Tromsoe.

Heavy snowfall and poor visibility had hampered rescue efforts over the past few days.

Meanwhile, the Netherlands was bracing for strong winds. National carrier KLM canceled 159 flights Tuesday to and from European destinations because Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport will use only one of its runways due to the expected storm.

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