Two skiers die in Italian avalanche

8th January 2013, by Abi Butcher

A total of six skiers were caught in avalanches in the South Tyrol last weekend

Two men died in an avalanche while skiing in the Fiemme valley (Val di Fiemme) in the South Tyrol area in Italy on Saturday.

The skiers, both locals, were wearing avalanche transceivers and were expert skiers. One of the men was working at an Alpine police training centre. Rescuers located their bodies on Saturday night, 10 hours after they were buried in the slide.

Four Italians ski touring near the town of Moene in the Val di Fiemme in north-east Italy on Saturday were also caught in an avalanche. One of the skiers suffered a broken leg.

The day before, six Russian holidaymakers died in the same area when their snowmobiles overturned. Local reports suggest they were travelling in the dark on an unlit black run on Mount Cermis when their snowmobiles overturned in a ditch. 

• snow
• italy
• avalanche

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