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.

This handout image released by the Italian Alpine Rescue shows the avalanche that killed two men in the Couloir Vesses, a well-known freeride route in Courmayeur, in the upper Val Veny, northern Italy, on Sunday. AP

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.

Avalanche derails Swiss train

In a separate incident a  train carrying around 80 passengers has derailed in Switzerland following an avalanche on Monday morning, authorities said as rescuers scrambled to reach survivors.

Several carriages were forced off the line near the village of Goppenstein, in the southwestern canton of Valais, around 7am this morning, police said.

Emergency responders raced to the scene as police warned injuries were “likely”. More information would follow, they said.

The train left Spiez at 6.12am and was heading for Brig when it was struck by the avalanche. Police reported just after 10am local time that 30 people had been rescued so far.

"Derailment of train, probably with injuries," regional police said in a post on the social media platform X, adding that the derailment occurred at 7:00 am (0600 GMT) in Goppenstein, according to Agence France-Presse.

No more details on the incident were immediately available, the police said when asked by AFP.

The federal train operator CFF said on its website that train traffic "is interrupted between Goppenstein and Brig" because of an avalanche.

Agencies