Police in Austria say three people have died in dozens of avalanches in the mountains in the west of the country.
Among them is a German skier, a spokeswoman for the police in Tyrol told dpa on Wednesday.
The winter sportsman was travelling with another man in the Tyrolean Navistal. Due to the danger of avalanches, they had turned back, but a snow slab had come loose while crossing a slope, according to the spokeswoman.
In the Tyrol alone, more than 30 avalanches were counted in one day, according to the state’s emergency call centre.
Another avalanche fatality was reported by the police in Fiss. The 71-year-old was on holiday in Tyrol, they said. The police did not provide any further details about the man.
A man also died in an avalanche in the province of Vorarlberg. The APA news agency reported that he was dug out, but died at the scene of the accident in the Sonnenkopf ski area.
A number of avalanches also occurred in the province of Salzburg, and a 70-year-old ski tourer was rescued from the snow there.
The avalanche situation in western Austria remains tense, with the warning services declaring the second-highest danger level in Tyrol and Vorarlberg.