A FATHER and his teen daughter are among five mountaineers killed by an avalanche in Italy’s Dolomite mountains.
The victims – all German – were climbing Cima Vertana when the devastating snow slide wiped them out on Saturday afternoon.
A group of three was “fully swept away by the avalanche” and all died, with their bodies found on Saturday, according to Italy’s Alpine rescue service.
The Alpine rescue service said that due to fog and low visibility, helicopters could not take off at first light on Sunday.
Once conditions improved, however, rescuers and avalanche dog units were airlifted up into the mountains before setting out on foot.
By late morning on Sunday, the bodies of the two missing mountaineers – the father and daughter – were found.
Rescue spokesman Federico Catania said of them: “They had been dragged to the lower part of the gully where the avalanche occurred.
“Rescue teams are now returning to the valley, also considering the worsening weather conditions at high altitude.
Two men from a third party survived a run-in with the avalanche and were taken by helicopter to a hospital in the nearby city of Bolzano.
The avalanche struck at around 4pm and at an altitude of more than 11,500ft.
Rescuers said they had not established why the groups were still ascending at this late hour.
They believe the three affected groups were climbing independently of each other.
South Tyrol is a popular region for mountaineering among tourists from Germany.
The region’s highest peak is Ortles, which rises to 3,905 meters.
Avalanche accidents are a persistent issue in the Italian Alps, with the country registering one of the higher 10-year average annual death tolls among major ski nations.
Victims are frequently ski mountaineers or freeriders.
Some analysis suggests that the number of accidents has increased in recent years – possibly due to more people heading to backcountry areas immediately after fresh snowfall
