“This tragedy painfully demonstrates how serious the current avalanche situation is,” one official said.
Three avalanches across Austria killed eight skiers, authorities said, as hazardous snowslides continue to claim lives around the world in the first month of 2026.
A female skier was fatally buried by an avalanche in the Bad Hofgastein area in western Austria, at an altitude of about 7,200 feet, around 12:30 p.m. Saturday, according to the Pongau mountain rescue service.
Roughly 90 minutes later, an avalanche in nearby Gastein Valley, south of the city of Salzburg, swept away seven people. Four were killed, two seriously injured and one escaped unharmed.
In the town of Pusterwald in central Austria, three Czech skiers were killed in an avalanche shortly before 4:30 p.
