Avalanche kills four in Italy

An avalanche ploughed down a mountainside in northwest Italy today killing four skiers and injuring at least six others, civil protection officials said.

The avalanche occurred on Mt Falere in the Aosta valley, near Italy’s border with Switzerland and France, said an official with the Aosta civil protection department.

The official confirmed four people, all believed to be Italians, were killed and at least six injured.

The ANSA news agency said seven people were recovering in nearby hospitals.

ANSA said the four skiers, believed to be from the area, were killed by trauma suffered from the power of the avalanche, not from suffocation under the snow.

Mt Falere is about 9,000ft high, and the avalanche occurred near the peak, the official said.