Thrill-seekers killed in Alpine avalanche

Rescue workers today resumed their search for an American snowboarder missing after alpine avalanches in Austria killed at least three people, including a Canadian and a German seeking the dangerous thrill of skiing off-trail in virgin snow.

Officials said it was doubtful the 31-year-old American could have survived severe weather overnight after dozens of searchers aided by specially trained dogs called off their hunt at nightfall last night in the western province of Tyrol.

The snowboarder was swept away by a large midday avalanche that killed two other people at the popular resort of St Anton, one of them a 57-year-old Canadian who was part of a group of four Canadians, two men and two women in their 40s and 50s, and their ski instructor.

Two others were seriously injured and were taken by helicopter to hospitals. The victims’ names and hometowns were not available.

The missing American was one of four US citizens in their 30s, officials said. No further details were released.

The avalanche, whose width was estimated as roughly equal to the length of three football fields laid end to end, struck at an elevation of about 7,550 feet in an off-trail area popular with thrill-seekers looking for deep powder.

Experts warn that skiing or snowboarding off-piste in unstable snow can be dangerous and triggers many of the hundreds of slides that annually claim scores of lives in Austria.

Officials who monitor avalanche conditions in the Alps issued a statement warning people not to venture off trails known to be safe, avoid skiing or snowboarding alone and approach all areas “with the greatest respect”.

A second, even larger avalanche later yesterday struck a party of five Germans snowboarding in the Gargellen region of the southwestern province of Vorarlberg, killing one and critically injuring two others.

Austrian television identified the dead snowboarder as a 25-year-old from Stuttgart who held joint US-German nationality.

It quoted authorities as saying that group also was snowboarding off marked trails when the avalanche, estimated at 700 yards across, thundered down the mountainside. About 80 rescuers aided by dogs recovered the body and rescued the rest of the Germans.

Officials had raised the five-step avalanche alert to level four in recent days after a combination of heavy snowfalls, strong winds and subsequent mild temperatures made snow cover unstable and prone to breaking away.