Avalanches kill six in Austria

VIENNA: Avalanches killed six people in Austria on Sunday in two separate incidents, police said.

At least five people were swept away on Sunday morning by a large avalanche on a mountain in Upper Austria, part of a group walking in snow shoes on the Dachstein range.

Local police said five bodies had been recovered from the avalanche, which began 2,800 metres (9,200 feet) up. The victims were thought to be from the Czech Republic, they added.

Although they did not think there were other victims, mountain rescue workers were searching the site, team leader Christoph Preimesberger told the Austrian Press Agency (APA).

In January 2019, about 60 residents in the town of Ramsau-am-Dachstein, which also lies in the Dachstein range, escaped another large avalanche which caused significant damage but no casualties.

Elsewhere on Sunday, a 33-year-old police officer died in an avalanche in the southern Carinthia region on the Grossglockner peak. Local police said he died while taking part in a training exercise.