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7 February 2005
BRUSSELS – Three Belgian off-piste skiers were among the five people killed by avalanches in Austria and France this weekend.
A Belgian couple died on Sunday morning in Champagny en Vanoise in the French alps after being caught in an avalanche with their French guide.
The guide escaped and alerted a mountain rescue team but the two Belgians died on the slopes.
Their details have not yet been released by the authorities.
A 42 year old Belgian snowboarder was also killed by an avalanche in the region of Obergurgl in the Tyrol.
He was reported to be skiing ‘off piste’ despite a high avalanche risk.
Avalanches also claimed the lives of an Austrian in Schmirntal and a 28 year old German woman at Koenigsleiten, near Salzburg.
A man buried under an avalanche in Weisskirchen, Styria on Sunday was rescued but still remains in a critical condition in hospital.
Searches are also continuing for three hunters who disappeared in Styria on Thursday.
The Austrian authorities have warned that the risk of avalanches will remain at its highest level on a five-point scale for the next few days due to high snow falls.
[Copyright Expatica 2005]
Subject: Belgian news