Eight people were killed in a series of avalanches in the Austrian Alps on Saturday, following heavy snowfall and dangerous conditions in the region.
Five people were killed in two avalanches in the Pongau area near Salzburg, local mountain rescue officials said.
Later that day, three Czech skiers died after being buried by an avalanche in Pusterwald, about 70 miles (110km) away, police confirmed.
Poor conditions have led to the deaths of a number of people in the Alps over the past week in neighbouring Switzerland and also in France.
“Our deepest sympathies go out to the families,”said Gerhard Kremser, district head of the Pongau mountain rescue service.
“This tragedy painfully demonstrates how serious the current avalanche situation is.”
The incidents in Pongau saw seven ski tourers hit near Finsterkopf mountain, killing four and seriously injuring another.
In the same area, a female ski tourer was also buried and killed in open alpine terrain.
Further avalanches were recorded in the region on Saturday, but no-one was injured.
Following the avalanche that killed three skiers in Pusterwald, four others in the same group rescued by emergency crews.
“Emergency responders were able to locate and partially dig out the buried victims. Despite immediate rescue efforts, the three individuals were found dead,” a police statement said.
The fatalities follow a deadly week in the alps.
Last weekend in France, six skiers died after being caught in avalanches in various Alpine resorts and in western Austria, a 58-year-old skier died in in the Tyrolean resort of Weerberg.
On Tuesday, an avalanche killed a 13-year-old Czech boy skiing in Austria’s Bad Gastein resort.
And in neighbouring Switzerland, a German man was killed in an avalanche, and four other people were injured, as they were cross-country skiing on Friday. (BBC)
