Tragic Avalanches Claim Lives of Three Off-Piste Skiers in Italy

Avalanche Incidents in Italy

MILAN, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Avalanches on Saturday killed three people skiing off-piste in the mountains of Trentino Alto Adige and Lombardy, two regions that are home to some of the venues of the Milano Cortina Winter Games, the Alpine rescue service said.

Details of the Avalanches

Two avalanches hit the Marmolada area in the Dolomites, not far from Cortina d'Ampezzo where the women's Alpine skiing competitions are taking place.

The Alpine rescue service said they recovered the body of a man who had gone off-piste with another three skiers at Punta Rocca, a 3,300-metre peak on the Marmolada massif, the highest mountain in the Dolomites.

The service said the man died buried in the snow after causing the avalanche, despite his three companions having immediately started the search operation with help from other skiers, until rescuers arrived.

Rescue Operations and Victims

Another two off-piste skiers died in Albosaggia, a village in the lower Valtellina valley, some 40 miles (65 km) east of Bormio, where all of the men's Alpine skiing competitions are being held.

The Alpine rescue service said it had no confirmation yet of a potential fourth victim in Trentino Alto Adige, where local media have reported that a man injured in an earlier avalanche died in hospital.

Avalanche Risk Warnings

Heavy snowfall in the Alps in recent days has caused several avalanches.

Earlier this week, another avalanche in the Trentino Alto Adige region killed two Finnish skiers.

AINEVA, Italy's snow and avalanche risks association, which is part of the European Avalanche Warning Services, flagged a marked risk of avalanches for Sunday.

The fresh snow and moderate winds have created slabs of wind-drifted snow that could be dislodged by the passage of just one winter sports enthusiast, AINEVA said on its website.

(Reporting by Valentina Za;Editing by Alison Williams)