Bodies of three Italian climbers were found Thursday in the Italian alpine region of Abruzzo, media said as avalanches hit slopes in Austrian and Swiss Alps, according to other reports
ROME (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 26th December, 2019) Bodies of three Italian climbers were found Thursday in the Italian alpine region of Abruzzo, media said as avalanches hit slopes in Austrian and Swiss Alps, according to other reports.A couple fell to their deaths into a ravine after slipping on the snow as they ascended the Gran Sasso mountain, according to the Tgcom24 tv channel. A third climber survived and called for help.
Separately, the body of a woman who had been missing since Wednesday was found 8,200 feet up in the mountains after she set off to conquer the peak of Corno Grande.
Search and rescue operations are meanwhile underway in Austrian and Swiss Alps after a string of avalanches came down the skiing slopes in the morning following a day of heavy snow.
A wave of snow rolled down a ski area in the region of Oberalp Pass in the central Swiss canton of Uri at about 10:50 a.m. (9:50 GMT), burying several people.
"Eyewitness accounts point to multiple people being buried under the snow. Two people with minor injuries have been found so far," cantonal police spokesman Reto Pfister said in a statement.
A search involving several helicopters is on in the Austrian Alps after three avalanches swept down ski slopes starting at around 10 a.m., the public broadcaster ORF reported.
The avalanches rolled down one after another from the slopes of the Ankogel, a popular Austrian skiing destination. Four people pulled themselves out after snow buried them below their waists.
The second avalanche was reported on the mount's northern slope, where three to four people were allegedly seen at the time. Three free riders triggered a smaller snowslide elsewhere in the area.
