Overview
- All five bodies were recovered on the mountain after the slide on Cima Vertana in South Tyrol, with three found Saturday and the remaining two located Sunday morning.
- The avalanche struck at about 4 p.m. Saturday at over 3,500 meters as the climbers neared the summit in separate rope teams.
- Two men survived and were airlifted to a hospital in Bolzano after alerting authorities to the incident.
- Helicopters, drones, firefighters, canine units and alpine rescue teams mounted the search, which paused overnight due to fog and low visibility before concluding as weather deteriorated.
- An alpine rescue spokesperson said victims were dragged into a lower gully, and a local rescue official said recent snow drifts that had not bonded to underlying ice may have been a factor.