The avalanche happened on the mountain Sorbmegaisa in Kaafjord near Tromsø on Monday. A group of 12 skiers from France and Switzerland had split into two groups before the avalanche.
Six of the skiers were caught. The avalanche started at 1.100 meters over sea level and was one kilometer wide and had a length of 5-600 meters. One of the six were pulled out of the snow and taken to hospital in Tromsø with helicopter with moderate injuries. The five other were found dead under several meters of snow, according to a statement by the police in Troms.
Four of the victims are from Switzerland, the fifth from France. A huge rescue operation was put in place at the site with assistance from the Red Cross, military, the police and special trained dogs. The rescuers located the victims through beacons from the skiers’ radio transceivers.
Monday’s avalanche is the worst in Norway since 1986 when 16 Norwegian soldieries on exercise were killed by an avalanche in Vassdalen near Narvik in northern Norway.
Locals in Troms say the risk of avalanches this winter is extremely high due to heavy snow followed by mild weather.
