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The BBC's Patrick Barlett in Kaprun
"The off-piste area is only considered suitable for very experienced skiers."

real 28k

Jonathan Charles reports for BBC News
"The avalanche had struck without warning"

real 28k

Tuesday, 28 March, 2000, 19:50 GMT 20:50 UK

Death toll rises in Austrian avalanche

Rescue workers carry the body of one victim from a helicopter in Niedernsill, Salzburg state

Rescue workers carry the body of a victim from a helicopter

An avalanche has struck a popular skiing resort in Austria, killing at least 11 people.

Rescue workers have recovered 10 bodies and two people who were injured. One, a 34-year-old ski instructor from Denmark, has died of his injuries in hospital. The other, thought to be from the Czech Republic, is in hospital slightly injured.

Map showing where the avalanche happened

It is a popular area for skiing

One woman escaped the avalanche and called for help on her mobile phone. Two people are still missing. The victims were thought to be skiing off-piste.

One eyewitness saw a group of snowboarders on the slopes shortly before the 150m high avalanche struck the Kitzsteinhorn mountain in Kaprun, 80km (50 miles) south-west of Salzburg at about 1400 local time (1200 GMT). A ski group managed to escape and call for help.

Resue workers and a sniffer dog prepare to go the the avalanche scene by helicopter

At least two people are injured

One survivor, Zdenek Latik, said: "The whole group stood up there and we went down one at a time. One group was already down here and waited for the other one to come down, too.

"Then one of our group went a little bit off to the side and then the avalanche went off."

The avalanche happened after rain in the morning was followed by sunshine.

Police in Zell am See said a search party and nine rescue helicopters had been sent to the area. The search will continue on Wednesday.

Austrian avalanches

Dec 99: Nine German skiers killed near Tyrolean resort of Galtuer

Dec 99: Two people killed near the village of Vent

Feb 99: 38 people killed by snowslides in Galtuer

The BBC's Katya Adler in Vienna said sniffer dogs had been sent to the area, an all-year ski resort, around 40km (25 miles) south of the German border.

The resort is popular with intermediate to advanced skiers, with about 130km (80 miles) of ski slopes and can house about 14,000 tourists.

Alpine regions have been on the alert for avalanches in recent weeks.

At the end of December, nine German skiers were killed in an avalanche near the Tyrolean resort of Galtuer. The village was also the scene of Austria's worst Alpine disaster in decades in February 1999, when 31 people were killed.

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See also:

25 Feb 99 | World
Avalanches: A fatal attraction

Internet links:

Avalanche information for Austria

Kitzsteinhorn

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