The area affected by the avalanche that killed four skiers near Salzburg Photo: AFP / AFP / Profimedia
Five people lost their lives on Saturday in two avalanches that occurred in the Austrian Alps, Austrian public television ORF reported, quoted by AFP.
Several people were caught in this weekend's avalanches that occurred after heavy snowfalls.
An avalanche caught a group of seven skiers off-piste in the Pongau region near Salzburg, killing four of them and seriously injuring another.
A few hours earlier, a woman out skiing with her husband was caught in another avalanche in the same region. Alerted by the woman's husband, the emergency services were unable to revive her.
Saturday's incidents come after a 13-year-old Czech boy died in an avalanche in Bad Gastein on the Sportgastein ski area a few days ago. At the same time, last Sunday, a 58-year-old woman was killed in a similar event, in Weerberg, in Tyrol.
Avalanches also took their toll in France, with six deaths recorded last weekend in resorts in the French Alps.
