Rome, April 14, (dpa/GNA) – Three people are missing after being buried by an avalanche in the Aosta Valley in northern Italy, the Italian mountain rescue service said on Thursday.
They had been taking part in a mountain guide course in the Val di Rhêmes in the area of the mountain Tsanteleina near the border with France.
According to the report, the rope team was surprised and swept away by the avalanche during their course; The course leader, a 49-year-old mountain guide from the Aosta Valley, was able to save himself and descend into the valley to alert emergency services. He was not seriously injured and was being treated in the emergency room of a nearby hospital.
Meanwhile, the rescue operation, which had been under way since the afternoon, was called off on Thursday evening. The search for the missing will be resumed early Friday morning, the mountain rescue team said.
The afternoon operation was extremely complicated because of the difficult weather conditions.
The rescue teams tried to approach the site of the incident and the people buried under the masses of snow by land as a helicopter operation was too dangerous.
GNA