Hiker dies in avalanche on Mt Sirente in Abruzzo

(ANSA) - ROME, JAN 14 - A 45-year-old Italian hiker who was swept away by an avalanche on Mount Sirente in Abruzzo at around 4 p.m. Sunday has died in the incident, rescue services said after pulling another four hikers out of the snow.
    The rescue call came from the victim's fellow hikers to the 118 L'Aquila Operations Centre, which immediately sent the helicopter to the scene.
    The CNSAS technician on board, once winched to the spot, immediately identified the victim, but unfortunately his condition immediately appeared critical, and the doctor on board the helicopter, who had meanwhile landed on the spot, could do no more than confirm his death.
    Operations are under way to recover the body and his fellow mountaineers by technicians from the Abruzzo Mountain and Speleological Rescue Service and men from the Guardia di Finanza mountain rescue team. (ANSA).