Tag: avalanche

Rescuers search for two missing after Austria avalanche

VIENNA, Austria (AFP) – Rescuers searched for two people who remained missing after an avalanche at a ski resort in western Austria, officials said. The avalanche came down around 3:00 pm (1400 GMT) at an altitude of 2,700 meters (8,858 feet) in the Lech Zurz ski area and was thought to have trapped around 10 skiers, police said. Rescuers backed by helicopters and dogs scoured for survivors. Eight people had been found, two of them injured, […]

Italy blames climate change for glacier collapse, 7 dead

by Francesco Gilioli with Ella Ide in Rome Agence France-Presse CANAZEI, Italy (AFP) — Italy’s prime minister on Monday linked the collapse of the country’s biggest Alpine glacier to climate change, as hopes faded of finding further survivors from a disaster that killed at least seven people. Eight people were injured and another 14 were reported missing, authorities said, cautioning that it was not clear how many climbers were caught when the glacier gave way […]

Thermal drones seek survivors after deadly Italy glacier collapse

  CANAZEI, Italy (AFP) — Rescuers used thermal drones Monday to search for possible survivors trapped under ice after an avalanche set off by the collapse of the largest glacier in the Italian Alps killed at least six people and injured eight others. Authorities said they did not know how many climbers were hit when the glacier gave way Sunday on Marmolada, the highest mountain in the Italian Dolomites. “We found bodies torn apart, in […]

Glacier collapses in Italian Alps, six dead: rescuers

by Francesco GILIOLI, with Gildas LE ROUX in Rome Agence France-Presse CANAZEI, Italy (AFP) — An avalanche set off by the collapse of the largest glacier in the Italian Alps killed at least six people and injured eight others Sunday, an emergency services spokeswoman said. The glacier collapsed on the mountain of Marmolada, the highest in the Italian Dolomites, near the hamlet of Punta Rocca, on the route normally taken to reach its summit. The […]

Nine dead as a hundred avalanches hit Austria

VIENNA, Austria (AFP) — Nine people died in three days during which more than 100 avalanches struck Austria, authorities said Sunday. Most of the avalanches hit the western Tyrol region and Friday alone saw five fatalities, rescue services said. Police said that one incident had claimed the lives of a group of Swedish skiers going off-piste with a mountain guide in the zone around Ischgl, near the Swiss border. The guide and four of the […]

Avalanche kills at least 4 climbers on Ecuador volcano: officials

QUITO, Ecuador (AFP) — An avalanche Sunday on a snow-capped Ecuadoran volcano killed at least four climbers and injured a fifth, officials reported. The avalanche struck a group of about a dozen mountaineers while at an altitude of 6,100 meters (20,000 feet) on the dormant Chimborazo volcano, Ecuador’s highest peak, in the central Andean region, the ECU911 security service said. “The existence of four dead people (and) one injury is confirmed,” the agency said, adding […]

Avalanche in western Canada kills two

MONTREAL, Canada Two people died in an avalanche Sunday in the Canadian Rockies in Alberta province, police said. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said it had been advised by Parks Canada of an avalanche and confirmed that the remains of two people had been found near the town of Jasper. The victims were not immediately identified. The avalanche took place on Mount Andromeda in the Columbia Icefield, a popular climbing destination, according to Steve Young, […]

Iran avalanche death toll rises to 11

TEHRAN, Iran (AFP) — Three more climbers in Iran have died after avalanches struck mountains north of the capital Tehran, bringing the overall toll to 11, the Red Crescent said Sunday. State news agency IRNA said the tragedy began on Friday when avalanches and blizzards hit the mountainous region. Several climbers were trapped in the area but the Red Crescent managed to rescue 14 during a three-day operation led by 20 emergency teams backed by […]

Avalanches kill nearly 40 in eastern Turkey

ANKARA, Turkey (AFP) — At least 33 people were killed in eastern Turkey Wednesday by a second avalanche which buried a team of rescuers searching for people hit by the first the day before. The bodies of 33 rescue workers and civilians were discovered in Van province, where they had been helping dig out a minibus buried by snow late Tuesday, the government’s disaster agency AFAD said. Five people aboard the vehicle were killed, taking […]

Death toll rises to at least 100 after Pakistan snow, avalanches

MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan (AFP) — Search teams found the bodies of 14 people buried by avalanches and heavy snowfall in Pakistani-administered Kashmir Wednesday, with harsh weather hampering rescuers as they race to find any survivors, officials said. The death toll from days of bad weather now stands at 76 in Kashmir, and at least 100 across the country, according to a statement from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). Most were killed in Kashmir’s picturesque Neelum […]

Three mountaineers presumed dead in Canada avalanche

Montreal, Canada (AFP) — Three world-renowned professional mountaineers — two Austrians and an American — were missing and presumed dead after an avalanche on a western Canadian summit, the country’s national parks agency said Thursday. American Jess Roskelley, 36, and Austrians Hansjorg Auer, 35, and David Lama, 28, went missing Tuesday evening in Banff National Park, according to media reports. Authorities launched an aerial search the next day. The three men were attempting to climb […]

Ten trapped by avalanche in Indian Kashmir

SRINAGAR, India (AFP) — Rescuers battled Friday to reach the site of an avalanche that buried 10 people in Indian-administered Kashmir following two days of heavy snowfall across the region, police said. The avalanche hit a fire emergency facility late Thursday in the Banihal area of the Kashmir valley. Six police, two prisoners and two other personnel had taken refuge there during a storm. “We have not been able to rescue anyone so far because […]