Five German mountaineers died after being hit by an avalanche in South Tyrol, in northern Italy, rescuers said on Sunday.
Three victims — two men and a woman — had already been recovered dead on Saturday, while the bodies of two other missing people, a man and his 17-year-old daughter, were found on Sunday morning.
“They had been dragged to the lower part of the gully where the avalanche occurred,” said Alpine rescue spokesman Federico Catania. “Rescue teams are now returning to the valley, also considering the worsening weather conditions at high altitude.”
The mountaineers, all Germans, were hit by the avalanche at about 4 p.m. on Saturday while climbing near the Cima Vertana, in the Ortles mountains, at an altitude of more than 11,500 feet. It is unknown why the climbers were still on their way up at this relatively late hour, rescuers said.
Authorities said the search operation, which included a helicopter and drones, was coordinated by multiple agencies, including the Solda Alpine Rescue station, Alpine Rescue and firefighters.
According to initial information, the climbers were in three groups and were traveling independently of each other. Two men survived the accident and were taken by helicopter to a hospital in the near city of Bolzano.
Five mountaineers died after being hit by an avalanche in South Tyrol, in northern Italy, rescuers said on Sunday. / Credit: National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps (CNSAS)
South Tyrol is a popular region for mountaineering among tourists from Germany. The region’s highest peak is Ortles, which rises to 3,905 meters.
Avalanche accidents are a persistent issue in the Italian Alps, with the country registering one of the higher 10-year average annual death tolls among major ski nations. Victims are frequently ski mountaineers or free-riders.
Some analysis suggests that the number of accidents has increased in recent years possibly due to more people heading to backcountry areas immediately after fresh snowfall.
Avalanches have killed climbers, skiers and workers across the globe this year. In June, a skier died after being caught in an avalanche on Alaska’s Mount McKinley. The month before that, the bodies of five skiers were found on a glacier above the Swiss resort town of Zermatt, and another person was killed following an avalanche in a village north of there.
In late February, four workers died after an avalanche swept away a large construction crew working on a highway near India’s mountainous border with Tibet. That same month, an avalanche in Oregon’s Cascade Mountains killed two backcountry skiers and another was killed in an avalanche near South Lake Tahoe in California.
Last month, the body of a skier who went missing in an avalanche in Alaska in March was found.
In the U.S., avalanches kill between 25 and 30 people each winter, according to the National Avalanche Center. In the 2024-2025 season, 23 people died in avalanches.
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