Eight of ten people who had been reported missing after the Sunday avalanche on a ski slope in Austria were located. The incident, which involved a snow avalanche on a slope in the Vorarlberg region, left six people unharmed and two injured, requiring hospital treatment.
Local authorities, citing the Austrian public broadcaster ORF, identified the Safety Advisor for Vorarlberg as the source of the update on the missing persons figures and the broader search operation.
Initial reports suggested ten individuals were missing after footage of the avalanche appeared. Eight were found, while the identities of two individuals captured in the clip could not be confirmed. At this stage, no missing status had been reported to friends or family. Officials described the situation as encouraging, noting that no relatives had filed missing-person reports up to that point. Nevertheless, the search team emphasized that it would continue until all snow-covered areas were cleared and every potential person accounted for.
Public safety communications urged tourism businesses to report any guests who might be unaccounted for and asked the public to share information about relatives or acquaintances whose whereabouts were unknown. Authorities also called on witnesses of the avalanche to provide whatever details could assist rescue efforts.
The avalanche began around 3:00 pm local time on the ski area near Lech, in Vorarlberg, Austria, descending from an altitude of about 2,720 meters. The moment prompted a rapid response from rescue services, which dispatched a search and rescue team immediately after the alert was received.
Multiple helicopters were deployed to the region, weather permitting, with efforts continuing into the late afternoon. As daylight diminished, aircraft operations paused temporarily, but ground teams remained active to locate anyone buried under the snow. Local authorities indicated that air resources would be maintained to speed up the transport of the injured if needed.
According to police information, roughly 200 personnel took part in the rescue mission, and specially trained dogs were employed to aid in locating buried individuals. The head of the rescue operation, Hermann Fercher, spoke to ORF and confirmed that rescue activities would proceed through the night if necessary. Officials stressed that every possible measure was being taken to safeguard winter athletes and to ensure a thorough search across affected zones.