Three persons were murdered and two others were injured in an avalanche in the Salzburg region while skiing off-piste, according to the Austrian Red Cross.
The accident occurred Saturday at a height of 2,400 meters (7,800 feet) in the Lungau district, shortly after 1:45 p.m. local time, according to Red Cross spokesperson Anton Schilcher.
According to local emergency response officer Christoph Wiedl, the snow buried eight of the group up to 4.5 meters deep.
The bodies of two of the victims were already dead when they were discovered, while the third died after being evacuated to a hospital in Klagenfurt.
The two wounded skiers were sent to a hospital in Tamsweg. A group of skiers from the Salzburg and Upper Austria districts were caught in the avalanche.
Avalanches have claimed the lives of roughly 20 people per year in Austria in recent years.
The last two seasons have been less dangerous due to the coronavirus epidemic, which has reduced the overall number of skiers.
