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Avalanche on South Tyrol’s Vertainspitze Kills Three German Climbers, With Two Still Missing

Rescuers will restart the search Sunday morning following an overnight pause.

Overview

  • The slide struck around 3:50 p.m. Saturday below the 3,545-meter peak as two German parties were ascending the north face.
  • Rescuers described a wind-drifted slab breaking on hard ice near 3,200 meters, burying a three-person team that was recovered dead soon after excavation.
  • A second group of four included two survivors evacuated by helicopter, while two others remain unaccounted for with no identities or ages released.
  • Multi-agency teams deployed the Sulden mountain rescue, volunteer firefighters, finance police mountain units, drones, and the Pelikan 1 and Pelikan 3 emergency helicopters.
  • The search was suspended shortly after 7 p.m. and is scheduled to resume Sunday on a mountain that also saw a fatal avalanche about a year earlier.