Hunter's body found buried in avalanche

The body of one of three hunters missing since an avalanche in the Austrian Alps early last month has been found, it was reported today.

Searchers found the body of the 59-year-old man, identified as Gottfried G, under almost 28 inches of snow yesterday, the Austria Press Agency reported.

Searchers were optimistic they would soon find the remains of two other hunters missing since the avalanche near the village the Wald am Schoberpass in the southern province of Styria. Milder weather has melted some of the snow in the area, making the search easier.

The three went missing after heading off to put out food for wild animals. Rescuers soon found parts of the vehicles they had used buried in a snow slide, but failed to locate the bodies.

Several mountain roads remained closed today because of the avalanche risk, but traffic flowed better than yesterday, when long traffic jams caused hours of delays for travellers heading to the mountains for Easter vacations.

Austria’s avalanche services assessed the risk for snow slides today at three, or moderate, in most of the country’s Alps.