(Vienna) Ten winter sports enthusiasts have been found alive, including four injured, after an avalanche in Austria triggered extensive research and raised fears of a very heavy death toll, rescuers said.
“According to the current state of knowledge, we can assume that no one is missing anymore”, indicate the authorities in a press release relayed by the Austrian press agency APA on the night of Sunday to Monday.
The incident occurred on Sunday around 3 p.m. local time at around 2,700 meters above sea level, in the Lech Zürz ski area in the Vorarlberg region (west).
The police, based on the video of a skier, initially reported “about ten people buried”.
Helicopters and several teams accompanied by dogs were mobilized.
No information was given on the identity of the persons concerned.
Rescuers had warned this weekend against a high danger of avalanche in this area as well as in neighboring Tyrol, pointing to the fragility of the snowpack in a context of mild weather.
In recent years, in Austria, snowslides have caused an annual average of around twenty deaths.