At least five killed in Austrian avalanches, including American

At least five people have died in a string of avalanches and avalanche-related incidents across Austria after heavy snowfall, officials say, with one of the dead identified as an American. The cluster of accidents has intensified pressure on mountain rescue services and disrupted transport, leaving parts of the country under significant strain.

Near the popular resort of St Anton am Arlberg in Tyrol, three skiers were killed when a large avalanche swept down off-piste terrain. Public broadcaster ORF reported that two of the victims were foreign nationals - an American and a Polish national - and that the third was a 21-year-old Austrian who later died in hospital. Police told Austrian media the avalanche "appeared to have been triggered by the skiers themselves." Two other men were recovered injured after a major operation involving four mountain rescue teams, three helicopters and emergency services.

In the Nauders area near the Swiss-Italian border a separate avalanche caught a father and son on a slope. A 42-year-old German man was among the victims, police said, and his 16-year-old son was airlifted to hospital. A snowboarder was also buried and killed in the neighbouring Vorarlberg region, bringing the Friday toll from these events to at least five.

Authorities caution that the danger is not limited to individual accidents. The avalanche risk remains high in parts of Tyrol, officials said, and two fatal avalanches on Friday occurred in off-piste areas. Austria has now recorded at least 21 avalanche-related deaths this winter, with dozens of fatalities across the Alps this season - a season that has already included three Britons killed in La Grave, France, earlier this month.

The weather disruption extended beyond the mountains. Heavy snow produced power outages and transport chaos, particularly in the south-east. Vienna International Airport temporarily closed in the morning and afternoon services were disrupted. The Red Cross was deployed to assist motorists stranded in Styria after a motoring organisation described roads there as "virtually inaccessible to private vehicles." In Linz a separate winter-related death occurred when a 53-year-old man was crushed by a snow plough; ORF reported the vehicle slid down a set of stairs where the man had been clearing snow.

The concentration of incidents places renewed scrutiny on avalanche warnings, rescue capacity and travel resilience in alpine regions. Mountain rescue teams mobilised multiple helicopters and ground units on short notice, underscoring the high resource demands such weather events produce. Local authorities and emergency services face immediate operational challenges in keeping roads open and airports functioning while carrying out search, rescue and recovery efforts.

Key details remain unconfirmed publicly: names of the deceased have not been released, exact times and precise slope locations were not provided and official investigations are ongoing. Officials in Tyrol and regional rescue coordinators are expected to release further updates on victim identities, the condition of the injured and any revised casualty counts as enquiries proceed.

The casualties are likely to prompt calls for sharper public messaging about off-piste risks and for review of avalanche-warning dissemination and mountain rescue resourcing ahead of continued snowfall.