Key Highlights
- Rescuers in Italy reported Monday that at least a dozen skiers, climbers and hikers died over the past week in a record-setting tragedy in the country’s mountainous terrain.
- While authorities said 11 of the 12 victims were killed in avalanches triggered by exceptionally unstable conditions on ungroomed backcountry slopes, The Associated Press reported a total of 13 deaths. The incidents occurred just as the Winter Olympics began in the region last Friday.
- Authorities stressed that the game sites — located in Lombardy on the Swiss border, Cortina d’Ampezzo in Veneto and Val di Fiemme in Trentino — remain safe, well-maintained and closely monitored.
- Italy’s specialist mountain rescue organization revealed the fatal disasters were caused by weak layers of fresh snow, unstable enough that the passage of a single person could trigger an avalanche.
- POWER OUTAGE HALTS MILAN CORTINA OLYMPICS CURLING COMPETITION MOMENTS AFTER MATCHES BEGIN Vigili del Fuoco crew members dig through heavy snow while conducting a mountain search and rescue operation.
