An avalanche hit a forest in Austria near the German border on Saturday, killing one skier, Austrian police said. Four others were rescued from the snow but emergency workers kept up the search for others who may have been buried alive.
The avalanche hit an off-piste forest in Reutte near the German border. Most roads leading to the site were blocked by Saturday afternoon’s avalanche and from a previous avalanche Thursday night, making rescue efforts more complicated.
“Of the four people who were rescued alive, one person is injured,” said police spokesman Michael Eder. He said all five were out on backcountry skiing tours when they were hit by the avalanche. He didn’t have any details about their identities or nationalities.
“We are continuing our search for others who may have been buried, but it’s getting dark now and will become more difficult to find anybody,” Eder added.
Four helicopters were taking emergency staff to the site and around 60 firefighters and mountain police with search dogs were on the scene.
The avalanche hit a treeless site near a hotel in an otherwise wooded area, but Eder said it was too early to know what had caused it.
