Three separate avalanches have claimed the lives of eight snowsport enthusiasts in northern Austria, officials said on Saturday.
Four people from Sweden and their local guide were killed on Friday in the province of Tyrol, in the area of Spiss on the border with Switzerland.
The Swedes were off-piste with the mountain guide when a 400-metre-wide avalanche broke loose above them. One member of the group was only partially buried and able to call a friend in his home country using his mobile phone.
The man in Sweden informed a person who was also travelling with the group but had not joined the tour that day and rescue services were notified. The 42-year-old survived.
Authorities announced on Saturday that another person had died due to an avalanche on the Knödelkopf mountain in Vorarlberg province on Friday. He was buried while travelling with a group outside the prepared slopes.
Although the others were able to quickly dig him out and start resuscitation measures, the man died. The police did not initially say where he was from.
Danger
In a third incident announced on Saturday, two people aged 60 and 61 were found dead shortly after midnight on Saturday in Tyrol's Wildschönau.
According to the Austrian avalanche warning system, there is considerable danger in many areas of the mountains, rated third in a five-level risk scale.
Due to the fresh snow, dozens of avalanches in Tyrol alone were reported between Thursday and Friday, according to the warning system.
