Five dead in Alpine tourist hotspot including father and daughter after avalanche strikes

The 3.5-kilometre high peak sits in the Ortler mountain range near the village of Solda, in Italy's German-speaking northeast.

At around 4pm on Saturday local time, the cascade of snow hit.

Italian Alpine rescue service Soccorso Alpino e Speleologico (CNSAS) said three people were "fully swept away by the avalanche".

Those three all died, with their bodies recovered on Saturday before rescue efforts were called off as the sun set.

The father and daughter, who was 17, were also taken downhill by the snow.

Their bodies were later recovered on Sunday.

A further two climbers survived the avalanche, raising the alarm before a rescue operation was launched.

Rescuers said that their helicopters were unable to take off immediately on Sunday due to fog and low visibility.

But once conditions improved, drones, rescuers using thermal imaging, and avalanche dog units were brought in, with some airlifted some 2.6km above sea level before setting out over the snow on foot.

The bodies of the two family members were found before midday.

They were said to have been dragged to a lower part of the gully.

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Olaf Reinstadler of the local Sulden Mountain Rescue Service told German media that the avalanche may have been caused by snow drifts which had not bonded to the ice below.

He said climbing tours in the area were popular and weather conditions were good, but questioned why the mountaineers were climbing late in the afternoon, as their descent would have had to be undertaken at night.

Avalanches are a persistent issue in the Italian Alps.

Over the last decade, Italy's death toll has ranked higher on average than its bordering winter sports-heavy nations.

The European Avalanche Warning Service says the incidents claim 100 lives every year on the continent.

The EAWS "season" begins on October 1 - with Saturday's incident the first of the term.

Last season, 11 people died in Italy, placing it behind France and Switzerland, which registered 21 and 20 deaths respectively.