Five dead - including girl, 17, and her father - after avalanche in Italy
Five German mountaineers died after being hit by an avalanche in South Tyrol, in northern Italy, rescuers said on Sunday.
A 17-year-old girl and her father are among five German nationals killed in an avalanche in Italy's Dolomite mountains, according to rescuers.
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The event occurred at around 16:00 local time on Saturday, as the climbers were scaling Cima Vertana in the Ortler Alps.
A group of three "was fully swept away by the avalanche" and all died, said Italy's Alpine rescue service, Soccorso Alpino e Speleologico.
Separately, the father and daughter were carried away in the fast-moving snow. Their bodies were recovered on Sunday.
Two other climbers in a third party survived, and went on to raise the alarm which triggering the rescue operation.
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Olaf Reinstadler, a spokesperson for the Sulden Mountain Rescue Service, told German media the incident might have been caused by recent snow drifts not bonding to the ice below.
He said that climbing tours on the 3,545-metre (11,630ft) mountain, also called Vertainspitze, were popular and the weather conditions were good, although was unsure why the mountaineers were climbing late in the afternoon, as the descent would have then taken until nightfall.
The bodies of the group of three were recovered on Saturday.
Shortly afterwards rescue efforts were suspended due to fading light and safety conditions, and did not resume until conditions improved on Sunday.
Once the fog lifted on the Sunday, rescuers and avalanche dog units were airlifted to 2,600 meters before setting out on foot, where they located the bodies of the father and daughter.
The two men who survived the accident were taken by helicopter to a hospital in the near city of Bolzano after the avalanche, where they were reportedly treated for shock.
No other climbers were believed to be in the area of the incident.
Avalanche accidents remain an issue in the Italian Alps, with the country having one of the highest 10-year average annual death tolls among ski nations.