A cross-country skier was killed by an avalanche on a glacier in the mountainous southern Austrian region of Osttirol today, police said.
A spokesman for police in Matrei, some 90 kilometres south-east of Innsbruck, said a party of cross-country skiers were caught in the avalanche at a height of about 3,000 metres on the Gross Venediger mountain.
The spokesman said a five or six more members of the party had been buried but had apparently been able to free themselves. It was not clear whether they had been injured or where they were from.
Avalanches are common in the spring months as skiers unsettle snow and ice that has begun to melt in the warmer temperatures.