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Two die after falls in Italian Alps

Two people have died in separate incidents in Italy's Alps.

Two die after falls in Italian Alps
Two people have died in accidents in Italy's Alps. Photo: Jean Pierre Clatot/AFP

In Val Soana, not far from Turin, 38-year-old Marco Beltrando died after falling down a steep mountain gully while climbing with a friend on Monday afternoon, La Stampa reported.

Beltrando's climbing partner immediately called the mountain rescue services but search efforts were hampered by foggy conditions.  

The alpinist's lifeless body was eventually recovered from the gully by a rescue team two hours later. Beltrando, a geologist and researcher at the University of Turin, died just one day before his 39th birthday.

In Italy's north eastern region of Alto Adige, a 26-year-old teacher, Sandra Lanthaler, died on Monday afternoon after falling from a footpath while hiking on the 2612 meter peak Cima Bianca.

Lanthaler was hiking along a footpath in good conditions but slipped on a fine film of ice covering a patch of grass.

After losing her balance she fell 200 meters down a steep slope, repeatedly smashing into the rocky mountain face on the way down.

The two deaths marked a black day on Italy's Alps, where another climber was seriously injured after falling ten meters from a glacier while climbing with friends in Bardonecchia, western Piedmont.

According to figures from Italian mountain rescue Cnasas, an average of 40 people die each month in the Italian Alps.

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