Valmalenco, Italy – On Friday, March 17, 2017 two ski mountaineers were killed in an avalanche as they descended from the Bivouac Parravicini on Piz Sella on the Bernina Massif in the Western Rhaetian Alps in Alta Valmalenco in Lombardy in northern Italy near the Swiss border.
The avalanche occurred at over 3000 meters around 12:15. The avalanche measured 50 meters wide, 300 meters long, and 1 meter deep (CentroMeteoItaliano.it).
The ski mountaineers were in a group of 3. Two of the skiers were caught, buried, and killed in the avalanche. The 3rd skier managed to escape unharmed and immediately alerted authorities. Rescuers responded to the scene by helicopter and began a search.
One of the victims was found using an avalanche transceiver. The other was found by a search dog. The victims were 43-years-old and 53-years-old (SondrioToday.it).
Find photos of the avalanche at CentroMeteoItaliano.it and TGcom24.mediaset.it.
We will try to update this post when more information is available.
Read more about the avalanche in the Bernina group in Italy from the following sources:
- Ilfattoquotidiano.it
- TGcom24.mediaset.it
- ANSA.it
- Ilgiorno.it
- LaProvinciaDicomo.it
- Iltirreno.gelocal.it
- SondrioToday.it
- Pupia.tv
- SwissInfo.ch
- Montagna.tv
- LaStampa.it
- Farodiroma.it
- SummitPost.org
- AINEVA.it
All information in this post was found using Google Translate. There may be errors in this information. Please use the sources listed above to verify all facts.
