Eight Skiers Caught in Austrian Glacier Avalanche, All Rescued

An avalanche swept through an off-piste area of the Stubai Glacier in Austria's Tyrol region on Thursday morning, catching eight skiers but resulting in no fatalities or serious injuries after all were rescued quickly. The incident occurred around 9:15 a.m. near the Daunscharte pass, prompting a large-scale search operation that involved nearly 250 rescuers.

The slide, which authorities believe was triggered by the skiers themselves in the freeride terrain east of the pass, carried snow down to slope 9 on the Kogelferner but did not affect anyone on the marked pistes. Police confirmed that the avalanche reached a lower section of the piste, leading to its temporary closure. All eight individuals involved were in unmarked terrain at the time and managed to free themselves from the snow before professional rescuers arrived, according to officials from the Austrian Alpine Police.

Emergency services responded immediately, deploying transceiver teams, avalanche search dogs, and probe lines formed by both professionals and nearby civilians. A helicopter from the Ministry of the Interior, equipped with a Recco device, conducted a final aerial sweep, detecting no buried victims. The...