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Avalanches claim 21 lives in Austria so far this winter

Xinhua, February 17, 2015 Adjust font size:

A total of 21 people have been killed in Austria this winter as a result of avalanches along with 84 avalanche-related accidents taking place, the Austrian Ministry of the Interior revealed Monday.

The figures are considerably high compared to the long-term average, said Hans Ebner, Head of Alpine Police at the Ministry.

The most recent deaths occurred on Sunday, when two tourists from Lower Austria were killed by an avalanche in the Eisenerz Alps in the state of Styria.

Ebner put the blame for the high fatality rate on an "unfavorable build-up of snow cover," particularly in the state of Tyrol which has had strong avalanche warnings running for up to several weeks at a time.

However, a decrease was observed in both accidents and fatalities resulting from winter sports in general, with about 1,610 accidents so far, down from 2,125 in the 2013-2014 season.

Deaths as a result of skiing-related activities were recorded at 15 so far this winter, 10 fewer than the prior season. Endit