Lyngen Alps Avalanche Buries Two Italian Tourists | One Rescued Quickly, Other Buried For 2 Hours

According to Norway’s English News, two Italian tourists were buried by an avalanche in the Lyngen Alps of Northern Norway on Thursday. The group of ski tourists were out exploring the mountains, when an avalanche was triggered and took two of the skiers out. One of the buried skiers was found and rescued quickly. Sadly, the other buried skier wasn’t found for over two hours, but he was sent by helicopter to the University of North Norway’s hospital in Tromsø. He was listed in Critical Condition as of Thursday Night.

It was reported that there were 4 skiers with the group when the avalanche hit around 4pm on Thursday, but only two of which were buried. At the time of the slide, the avalanche danger was at a 3 on a scale of 5. Rising temperatures, high winds, and strong storms have combined to make for dangerous avalanche conditions. Avalanches are not uncommon in the Lyngen Alps because of their steep mountain sides and heavy snowfall, but it is a popular destination for skiers.

“I’m worried about the conditions in the mountains,” one local resident told NRK in an interview. “There’s a lot of snow up there and I’m not surprised there’s been an avalanche. We’ve had a lot of wind all day and visibility is poor.”