ONE skier was killed in a New Year’s Eve avalanche in the Malá Fatra mountains and a Polish alpinist was seriously injured in another snow slide in the Západné Tatry (Western Tatras).
According to rescuers, the snow-slide in the Malá Fatra, near Chleb, occurred after a group of Slovak skiers tried to cross a slope, the ČTK newswire wrote. One of them was swept away by the avalanche.
The man was found after a search of more than an hour by his female skiing companion but she was unable to resuscitate him.
Nine professional rescuers and six volunteers of the Mountain Rescue Service in Slovakia took part in the action that ended shortly before midnight, the TASR newswire informed.
The avalanche in the Jamnická valley in the Western Tatras buried two Polish ski-alpinists also on New Year’s Eve, the ČTK informed.
“They both managed to dig their way out of the snow by themselves, but one of them suffered serious leg injuries and had to be treated immediately,” the Mountain Rescue Service stated. The man was taken to Poprad hospital via helicopter.