Finnish skiers buried in Italian avalanche: One survives, two lost to snow

Two Finnish nationals have died in an avalanche in northern Italy, the Finnish Ministry for Foreign Affairs has confirmed. A third person was injured in the incident.

The tragedy occurred on February 5 near the Punta Beltovo slopes at the Solda ski resort, close to the Swiss border, Caliber.Az reports via Finnish media.

The Italian public broadcaster reported that the deceased were Finnish citizens in their 50s and 60s.

According to the Ministry, one person was rescued from the avalanche but sustained injuries. RAI stated that the victims were off-piste skiers.

Rescuers travelling by helicopter only became aware of the avalanche while en route to investigate another snow slide. From the air, they spotted a person digging through the snow.

Upon arrival, the survivor told rescuers that two friends had been buried. Both victims were quickly located using avalanche transceivers, but were already deceased.

One was found 60 centimetres beneath the snow, the other at a depth of 1.5 metres.

By Aghakazim Guliyev