Avalanche
A 23-year-old skier was killed in an avalanche on Saturday morning in the Dolomites near the ski resort of Cortina d’Ampezzo in northern Italy, local media are reporting.
The Italian man, an expert skier, was skiing with a group that included his brother on the peak above the Giussani refuge when the avalanche broke off in the area of Tofana di Rozes. He was caught and carried almost 600-feet by the slide. His 27-year-old brother was uninjured.
“The avalanche was a mix of snow and ice and was probably caused by the high temperature of the day. Many climbers had been attracted to the area as a result of the good weather.”
– Marshal Paolo Simoni, head of the Alpine Rescue team
His body was retrieved by helicopter and taken to Cortina, a ski resort in the Veneto region. Rescue attempts were hampered by another avalanche in the Punta Penia area, although nobody was injured in that one.
The Italian government recently relaxed the strict measures in place to stem the spread of coronavirus. Ski touring is permitted along with some other open-air sporting activities.
Italy has had 219,070 confirmed coronavirus cases and 30,560 deaths.
Cortina d’Ampezzo, commonly referred to as Cortina, is a town and comune in the heart of the southern (Dolomitic) Alps in the Veneto region of Northern Italy. Situated on the Boite river, in an alpine valley, it is a winter sports resort known for its skiing trails, scenery, accommodation, shops, and après-ski scene, and for its jet-set and Italian aristocratic crowd.
