BERLIN (AP) — An avalanche killed one skier in Switzerland and Austrian authorities issued avalanche warnings Tuesday for the country’s mountainous east after days of heavy snow pummeled the region.
In hard-hit East Tyrol and other parts in the Austrian Alps, several roads were still closed in Tyrol and some valleys were cut off from the rest of the country. Electricity provider Tinetz said 4,000 homes lost power after several electrical lines were snapped by snow or fallen trees, public broadcaster ORF reported.
Neighboring Switzerland and northern Italy saw massive snowfall over the weekend and snow also hit parts of Germany and Spain as well.
Authorities in the Swiss canton (region) of Nidwalden said one off-piste skier among a group of five people was killed after getting caught in an avalanche Monday in the Titlis area, south of Lucerne. Rescue teams were not able to resuscitate the 23-year-old Swiss citizen after he was pulled from the snow.
A 23-year-old German man was injured Monday in Austria’s Hahnenkamm skiing region in Tyrol when he went skiing on a closed slope. He was taken by rescue plane to a hospital in Kempten in Bavaria, ORF reported.
In a broad swath of the Alps in Switzerland, authorities raised the avalanche warning level to grade 3 on a five-point scale, after exceptionally heavy snowfall was dumped over the weekend. Some higher elevations recorded between 50 and 80 centimeters (20-32 inches) of snow over the last three days.
“It’s true that it’s early for the season” to have so much snowfall, said Mikhael Schwander, a meteorologist with Swiss weather service MeteoSuisse. He said the higher the elevation that the snow fell, the greater the risk of avalanches — although that also depends on other factors including the temperature and the types of snow on the ground.
Regulators authorized AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for use in adults throughout the European Union on Friday, amid criticism the bloc is not moving fast enough to vaccinate its population.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A former FBI lawyer was sentenced to probation for altering an email that the Justice Department relied on during its surveillance of an aide to President Donald Trump during the Russia investigation.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Democratic Gov. Tony Evers lashed out Friday at rival Republicans who tried to repeal his statewide mask mandate, saying killing the order would be a ridiculous move comparable to abolishing speed limits.
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — As some conservatives in South Carolina celebrated getting a bill that would ban almost all abortions in the state past a legislative barrier and likely becoming law, they said they are not finished trying to end all abortions.
A Moscow court on Friday put the brother and several allies of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny under house arrest for two months as authorities sought to stymie more protests over the jailing of the top Kremlin foe.