Overview
- The slide struck around 4 p.m. Saturday on the Vertainspitze/Cima Vertana route in the Ortles/Ortler Alps at over 3,500 meters.
- Three victims were recovered on Saturday before darkness halted the search, and the bodies of a father and his 17-year-old daughter were found Sunday morning.
- Two climbers survived and were airlifted to a hospital in Bolzano after they raised the alarm that initiated the rescue.
- Fog and low visibility grounded helicopters at dawn on Sunday, forcing teams to move on foot before aircraft later ferried rescuers and avalanche dogs to about 2,600 meters.
- Authorities said the climbers were traveling in separate groups, and the Ortles region remains a heavily visited destination for German alpinists.