Avalanche Kills 3 Skiers And Injures 2, Chunk Of Snow Was About 650 Feet Wide

An avalanche in the Salzburg province of Austria killed three skiers and injured two others on Saturday, according to officials.

The victims were three young Austria men. One skier was 24 years old and two were 19 years old. One of the 19-year-olds was identified as Rene Hofer, a junior motocross world and European champion.

Eight of the group of 11 skiers on a tour were submerged by snow in an area around Tweng. The chunk of snow reportedly measured about 650 feet wide.

The three who died became buried in the snow, while the other two were only partially buried, which allowed them to get out on their own, police said.

Two of the buried skiers were found by rescuers through a search device that located them. The third skier was not wearing a search device and was not found until four hours after the avalanche.

The three skiers had been taken to a hospital in Klagenfurt. One died when they arrived, while the other two died later.