Avalanche

A emergency relief helicopter believed to be carrying six people crashed in a mountainous area of central Italy on Tuesday but there was no immediate information about possible casualties, Italian media said.

Four Turkish snowboarders were rescued on Saturday morning in the Echmishte area over Bansko.

At the end of the day on Friday, they left the ski zone in order to make extreme descents.

In spite of the warnings for possible avalanches and the signs, they skied in the danger zone and got stuck in one of the ravines.

The tourists called the emergency number 112.

Rescuers are digging to free up to six people found alive under the avalanche that buried a luxury mountain hotel in Italy almost two days ago, a fire department official said on Jan. 20. 

An avalanche has buried a mountain hotel in the earthquake-hit region of Abruzzo, central Italy, with up to 30 people feared missing under the snow.

 
The civil protection agency said on Thursday morning that they were working to get rescue vehicles to the Hotel Rigopiano through roads covered in snow, joining initial rescue efforts overnight by alpine rescue teams.

Several children were among more around 30 people unaccounted for, feared dead, on Jan. 19, after an avalanche engulfed a mountain hotel in earthquake-ravaged central Italy.

The national civil protection agency said the Hotel Rigopiano had suffered a direct hit by a two-meter (six-feet) high wall of snow on Jan. 18.

An avalanche buried a mountain hotel in an earthquake-hit region of central Italy, leaving at least 30 people missing, authorities said on Jan. 19.

The man who was buried by an avalanche on Friday noon near the Seven Rila Lakes has been found dead, announced Kiril Cholakov from the mountain rescue service to BTA.

Rescuers attempted to reanimate the man but did not succeed.

The body will be transported soon, added Cholakov.

The director of the mountain rescue service, Radko Markov, warned on Friday that there is a considerable danger of avalanches occurring in the Bulgarian mountains.

Markov recommended to tourists to prepare well before going out in the mountain by researching the route and avoiding areas prone to avalanches in order to minimise the risks of being engulfed by an avalanche.

An avalanche occurred in the Vitosha mountain overlooking the Bulgarian capital of Sofia on Thursday.

The mountain rescue service said that it is looking for two tourists who were in the region of the Aleko chalet where the avalanche occurred.

The rescue operation is ongoing with 14 rescuers and two dogs participating in it.

Bulgaria's Mountain Rescue Service has warned of considerable danger of avalanches following more than 24 hours of snowfall.

Trekking or skiing along eastern and northeastern mountain slopes could be particularly dangerous.

The fresh snow is about 30 cm thick but in areas with strong winds the snow cover could be considerably higher.