Avalanches kill 8 skiers in Austria despite

Three avalanches in Austria killed eight skiers, authorities said, as dangerous snow slides continue to claim lives around the world in the first month of 2026.

A female skier was buried in an avalanche in the Bad Hofgastein area of ​​western Austria at an altitude of about 7,200 feet around 12:30 on Saturday, according to the Pongau mountain rescue service.

About 90 minutes later, an avalanche in the nearby Gastein Valley, south of the city of Salzburg, swept away seven people. Four were killed, two were seriously injured, and one escaped unharmed.

In the central Austrian town of Pusterwald, three Czech skiers died in an avalanche shortly before 4:30 p.m., police said. Four of his companions were evacuated to a safe place.

Four rescue helicopters, mountain rescue and Red Cross canine teams and a crisis intervention team responded to the scene.

“This tragedy painfully demonstrates the seriousness of the current avalanche situation,” said Gerhard Kremser, regional head of the Pongau mountain rescue service, highlighting the “clear and repeated warnings” about the risk of avalanches.

On Tuesday, an avalanche killed a 13-year-old Czech boy who was skiing off-piste in the Austrian alpine resort of Bad Gastein.

Last Sunday, a 58-year-old backcountry skier died in an avalanche in the Tyrolean resort of Weerberg in western Austria.

Deadly avalanches around the world this month

In neighboring Switzerland, a German was killed in an avalanche on Friday and four other people were injured while cross-country skiing.

Last weekend in France, six skiers died after being caught in avalanches at several alpine resorts.

At least four people in the western United States have died from avalanches this month.

Last week, a motorcyclist died after being buried by an avalanche in Wyoming.

That incident took place two days later two men were murdered in an avalanche in central Washington state.

Earlier this month, a snowmobiler in California’s Sierra Nevada deceased after being buried by an avalanche.

Each winter, between 25 and 30 people die from avalanches in the United States, according to the National Avalanche Center.