Nine people died in three days during which more than 100 avalanches struck Austria, authorities said Sunday, as heavy snowfall followed by warmer weather made for unusually dangerous conditions. Most of the avalanches hit the western Tyrol region and Friday alone saw five fatalities, rescue services said. Saturday then saw an Austrian aged 58 killed at Schmirn near Innsbruck in an avalanche which injured four others. In neighbouring Switzerland, an avalanche in Reckingen in the south-eastern Wallis region killed a 68-year-old on Saturday, while a second person was injured, police said. On Thursday, one person died and several others were injured in avalanches in Switzerland’s Graubunden region, which borders Austria’s Tyrol.
