Three dead in Italian mountain accidents

One man was killed on the slopes of Piz Boè in Alto Adige when an avalanche hit a group of people ski-touring, La Stampa reported on Sunday.

Of the four-strong group just one escaped the avalanche and was able to raise the alarm, prompting the arrival of two rescue teams in a helicopter.

Two of the group were injured, with one having to be pulled from under two metres of snow with a broken femur and suffering from hypothermia.

Rescuers were unable to save Luca Valentin, a 31-year-old man from nearby Corvara.

The accident happened in freak weather conditions, with unusually high temperatures plummeting as a cold front swept across the area.

The helicopter had to battle wind speeds of 100km/h to reach the group, La Stampa said.

Further west, two people were killed in separate incidents in Italy’s Piedmont region.

One hiker fell 100m to his death after slipping on ice in the Biella province. His friends called in rescuers, who recovered the man’s body and airlifted him and his companions off the mountainside.

A similar incident happened in Cuneo, with a man falling while hiking in the Aisone area. A group of climbers found the man’s body after friends of the hiker asked whether they had spotted him.