Off-trail avalanche kills 2 skiers and injures 1 in northern Italy

An off-trail avalanche killed two skiers and injured another on Sunday on the Italian side of the Mont Blanc massif, near the border between France and Switzerland, officials said.

At least three skiers were caught up in Sunday morning’s avalanche in the Couloir Vesses, a well-known freeride route in Courmayeur, in the upper Val Veny, according to Italy’s Alpine Rescue.

One of the victims was taken to a hospital in serious condition but later died, the agency said. Fifteen rescuers, three canine units and two helicopters took part in the search and rescue efforts.

Courmayeur, a town with about 2,900 inhabitants, is some 200 kilometers (124 miles) northwest of Milan, one of the venues hosting the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.

Another person was partially buried by an avalanche in Trentino, but was rescued by his companions, authorities reported Sunday.

A record 13 backcountry skiers, climbers and hikers died in the Italian mountains over a week ending Feb. 8, Alpine Rescue said last Monday, including 10 in avalanches triggered by an exceptionally unstable snowpack.

Fresh snowfall during recent storms and wind-swept snowcaps on weak internal layers have created especially risky conditions along the entire Alpine crescent bordering France, Switzerland and Austria, Alpine Rescue said.