The moment a huge avalanche hit recreational skiers on a slope at an Austrian resort before everyone miraculously escaped with their lives.
Video of the avalanche apparently covering ten people was posted on Twitter.
But it turned out that most had escaped by skiing down the mountain into the valley.
A partially buried man was recovered with serious injuries and a search began.
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This is the moment a huge avalanche hit recreational skiers on a slope at an Austrian resort before everyone miraculously escaped with their lives.
Police said Monday they believe no one is missing after the Christmas Day avalanche that leveled a ski slope near the western Austrian town of Zuers.
A video posted on Twitter shows the avalanche completely covering several skiers on the slope.
In the background, the person recording the video can be heard saying, “Oh my God, we have to control those people.”
This is the moment a huge avalanche hit recreational skiers on a slope at an Austrian resort before everyone miraculously escaped with their lives.
Police said Monday they believe no one is missing after the Christmas Day avalanche that leveled a ski slope near the western Austrian town of Zuers (Pictured: where the avalanche occurred)
First responders initially assumed up to 10 people could be buried based on mobile phone video.
First responders initially assumed up to 10 people could be buried based on mobile phone video.
The avalanche covered 500 meters of the trail near the 2,700-meter Trittkopf mountain, police in the Vorarlberg region said in a statement.
Rescuers had to be airlifted to the avalanche site using eight helicopters.
A partially buried man was recovered with serious injuries and 200 rescuers were deployed to search the mass of snow for more.
It turned out that several of the people in the video had escaped and skied down the mountain into the valley without reporting their involvement, and it took hours to track everyone down, police said.
Three people were reported to have suffered minor injuries.
A video posted on Twitter shows the avalanche completely covering several skiers on the slope.
It turned out that several of the people in the video had escaped and skied down the mountain into the valley.
The search continues today to make sure, but the police said that “according to the current state of the information, it can be assumed that no more people are missing.”
The avalanche followed days of heavy snowfall, followed by warm weather on Christmas Day, with the mountain rescue service rating the avalanche danger as high.
The head of tourism for the Zuers and Lech am Arlberg region, Hermann Fercher, said the avalanche occurred despite the fact that explosives had been detonated in that area to reduce the risk, the dpa news agency reported.
Police said they would be investigating how the accident occurred.
In Austria, every year around 20 people die as a result of avalanches.