Eight people were killed over the weekend after deadly avalanches in the Austrian Alps caused by heavy snowfall and dangerous conditions.
Five people died during two avalanches in the Pongau area near Salzburg, with another seriously injured, local mountain rescue officials confirmed.
Four rescue helicopters, mountain rescue, Red Cross dog teams, and a crisis intervention team were sent to the scene.
Another avalanche killed three Czech skiers, who were completely buried after being swept away from their group. Four others were rescued.
"Emergency responders were able to locate and partially dig out the buried victims," police said. "Despite immediate rescue efforts, the three individuals were found dead."
Between 20 and 50cm of snow has fallen in the region over recent days, with officials saying fresh snow has not bonded with older snow yet on the peaks, causing the repeated avalanches.
Authorities have urged extreme caution in the area.
Gerhard Kremser, of the Pongau mountain rescue service, said the "tragedy demonstrates how serious the current avalanche situation is".
Eight people were killed over the weekend after deadly avalanches in the Austrian Alps caused by heavy snowfall and dangerous conditions
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"Despite clear and repeated warnings, numerous avalanches occurred again today – unfortunately with fatal consequences," he said.
A female was buried and killed in open alpine terrain in the same area just 90 minutes earlier.
The avalanches happened at an estimated altitude of 7,200 ft.
On Tuesday, an avalanche killed a 13-year-old Czech boy skiing off-piste in the Austrian Alpine resort of Bad Gastein.
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Up to 17 people have been killed in the avalanches so far despite heavy warning from local authorities on the conditions
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After being pulled from the snow, medics performed 40 minutes of CPR before pronouncing him dead.
The poor conditions have led to multiple deaths in the Alps over the last week in Switzerland and France, too.
In Switzerland, a German man was killed during an avalanche on Saturday, while the day before four people were injured in a similar incident.
On Thursday, two Swiss police officers aged 42 and 41 were killed while ski touring in the Canton of Valais.
The avalanches are said to have been caused by heavy snowfall in the region, with fresh snow not yet settling on top of the older snow
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Helicopters were able to rescue two others with them.
Swiss Olympic snowboarder Ueli Kestenholz, a bronze medalist at the 1998 Winter Olympics, also died in the same region in southern Switzerland.
Last weekend in France, six skiers died after being caught in avalanches across various resorts, while a 58-year-old was also killed.
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