Avalanche buries several people in Austria, rescue underway

BERLIN – Austrian police say an avalanche has buried several people in Austria near the German border on Saturday afternoon and a rescue mission is underway.

The avalanche hit a forest region off-slope in Reutte near the German border and buried the people, but it wasn’t clear how many, said police spokesman Julian Brunner.

“Several helicopters are part of the rescue operation,” Brunner said.

German public broadcaster BR reported that several roads leading to the site were blocked off by the avalanche and emergency staff was flown in with helicopters. Firefighters, police and search dogs were also on the scene, looking for people buried in the snow.