TL;DR
An avalanche at Val Ridanna in South Tyrol, Italy, struck a group of 25 ski tourers on Saturday morning, killing two and seriously injuring three others. Despite a moderate danger rating of Level 2, wind-packed snow and persistent weak layers proved deadly on the Hohe Ferse peak.
Two Skiers Dead After Avalanche Sweeps 25 Tourers at Val Ridanna in South Tyrol
An avalanche at Val Ridanna in South Tyrol, Italy, killed two ski tourers and injured five others on Saturday, March 21 - despite the day's avalanche danger sitting at just Level 2 out of 5. Twenty-five people were caught on the same face when the slide released without warning, making it one of the most significant avalanche incidents in the region in recent years.
What happened and where
The slide released at around 11:40am on the Hohe Ferse - known in Italian as Tallone Grande, or Great Heel - a peak that sits at 2,669 metres and straddles the ridge between Val Ridanna and Val di Racines in Alto Adige. The snow struck the group at an elevation of around 2,445 metres.
According to Italian news agency ANSA, the final toll confirmed by the Bolzano Emergency Coordination Centre stands at two dead, three seriously injured, and two with minor injuries. The majority of the 25 tourers were only grazed by the slide. One critically injured woman from Brescia was airlifted directly to the University Hospital in Innsbruck by the Austrian rescue helicopter Christophorus.
