(supersedes previous)One man
died and three people were injured, one seriously, after an
enormous avalanche engulfed a group of 30 excursionists in the
north-eastern Alto Adige region, sources said Tuesday.
The fatality was identified as 57-year-old Hartmann
Stifter, a native of the mountain town of Brunico who was a
passionate skier, mountaineer, and mountain biker.
The group was climbing towards the Cima della Neve peak
(altitude 2,925 meters) above the Alpine mountain village of
Riva di Tures in the Italian region also known as South Tyrol
when the avalanche detached from the peak, causing seven smaller
avalanches in a chain reaction.
A total of eight people were engulfed, sources said. Fellow
excursionists immediately freed six of them, while two others
were dragged for over 300 meters.
Police, finance guard and Alpine Rescue helicopters then
airlifted some 20 excursionists out of the danger zone, and the
seriously injured person was taken to hospital in the city of
Bolzano.
Also on Tuesday, two avalanches detached from the mountains
in Val Senales area, one in Bellavista and another in Punta di
Saldura, near the Lazaun mountain lodge. Mountain lovers flocked
to both Val Senales and Riva di Tures in the heart of the South
Tyrolean Alps because they are the only Alto Adige areas
currently with snow.
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