Buried skiers survive avalanche

A ski instructor and a skier buried in an avalanche in south-western Austria managed to free themselves, authorities said.

The avalanche struck at about 4pm local time yesterday on a slope at a ski resort in Lech am Arlberg in the province of Vorarlberg.

A search party was organised, but the two men were able to dig themselves free soon afterwards. The skier was unhurt and the instructor suffered a minor knee injury.

The snow slide was estimated at about 60 yards across and 350 yards long.

Conditions are ripe for avalanches in much of Austria, where five people were killed in slides last weekend. Officials in the area where yesterday’s avalanche struck said the alert was at level three on a five-step scale.