Three skiers useless after avalanche hit group on Italian mountain and ‘dragged them lots of of ft’
Three skiers died after their group was hit by an avalanche in the Piedmont region of northern Italy.
Local media named the three deceased as driving school instructor Gaudenzio Bonini, 65, Matteo Auguadro, 48, and Matteo Lomazzi, 34.
An additional two skiers survived and were airlifted to hospital by helicopter after a difficult rescue operation.
The avalanche hit at about midday on the eastern face of Punta Valgrande, a summit on the border between Italy and Switzerland.
The skiers who died were dragged downhill for several hundred metres, suffering fatal injuries, rescuers said.
An alert had been issued in the area above 6,900ft (2,100 metres), warning of ‘considerable danger of avalanches’.
According to Italian news site Attualita, the avalanche happened on the eastern ridge of Punta Valgrande – close to 3,000 metres above sea level.
Witnesses alerted the rescue team after watching the avalanche that engulfed the group of five.
Punta Valgrande, a summit on the border between Italy and Switzerland, that rises to almost 3,000 metres above sea level
The avalanche hit at about midday on the eastern face of Punta Valgrande, leaving the men trapped under the snow
The additional two skiers who survived were airlifted to hospital by helicopter – although the individuals have not yet been identified
The rescue team embarked on a lengthy operation to find the skiers hit by the avalanche
The area was scanned with state-of-the-art avalanche scanning devices that reveal the location of people trapped under the snow
The National Alpine and Speleological Rescue and the Alpine Rescue of the Guardia di Finanza raced to the scene.
The area was scanned with state-of-the-art avalanche scanning devices that reveal the location of people trapped under the snow, assisted by dog teams – but nothing could be done to save the three men.
Matteo Gasparini, head of the Alpine Rescue of the Valdossola Delegation, said: ‘They were all experienced guys. They were climbing the canal where there was already a track of someone who had passed previously, but they were swept away by the avalanche.’
Avalanches are a perennial risk for skiers who like to follow their pursuit in the backcountry.
Earlier this month a skier died and another was left injured after triggering a large avalanche while ascending a mountain in western Wyoming.
Kenneth Goff, 36, of Lander, Wyoming, was killed Saturday afternoon after being completely buried in the snow on the Togwotee Pass.
A second victim, who was partially buried during the snowslide, suffered leg injuries.
