(ANSA) - Aosta, March 2 - Three people are dead and many others are injured, one in an extremely critical condition, after an avalanche hit the Val Veny valley, near Courmayeur, just before 13:00 on Thursday, finance police who are at the scene said. The three victims are an Italian, a Belgian and a German, police said. A total of 18 people were hit by the avalanche, from Italy, Belgium and Germany. The wounded are a man from Alto Adige, a Turin woman, two Belgians and one man in a "desperate" condition who has not yet been identified.
Off-piste skiing is practised in the area of the avalanche, sources said.
A second avalanche in Val d'Aosta soon after hit two skiers, sources said Thursday. After the avalanche in Val Veny, the second avalanche took place at Colle San Carlo, between La Thuile and Morgex.