Three skiers have been killed in separate avalanche incidents in northern Italy, in areas close to venues being used for the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.
Cortina d’Ampezzo
One man died on the Marmolada massif in the Dolomites, near Cortina d’Ampezzo, where the women’s Alpine skiing events are being held. He was part of a group of four skiing off piste from Punta Rocca, a 3,300 metre peak on Marmolada.
Alpine rescue services said the avalanche was likely triggered by the group. The other skiers began an immediate search with help from people nearby, but when rescuers arrived the man was found buried in the snow and pronounced dead.
Albosaggia
In a separate incident, two off piste skiers were killed near Albosaggia in the lower Valtellina Valley, about 65 kilometres east of Bormio, which is hosting the men’s Alpine skiing competitions.
Rescue services are also checking reports of a possible fourth fatality in Trentino Alto Adige, where local media have reported that a man injured in an earlier avalanche later died in hospital. This has not yet been confirmed by authorities.
The deaths follow heavy snowfall across the Italian Alps in recent days. Earlier in the week, two Finnish skiers were killed in an avalanche in Trentino Alto Adige.
Italy’s avalanche monitoring body, AINEVA, had flagged a high avalanche risk, warning that fresh snow and wind had created unstable slabs that could be triggered by a single skier.
