Five Germans died in avalanche near Vertainspitze Italy, two injured.

Five climbers from Germany died and two others were injured after an avalanche struck two rope teams on Saturday afternoon beneath the Vertainspitze, near the village of Sulden Solda in South Tyrol, Italy, rescuers said. The incident occurred at about 3:50 to 4:00 p.m. in the Ortler massif, a high-alpine area popular with experienced mountaineers.

Rescue teams said the two groups, seven alpinists in total, were traversing a narrow chute on the north face of the peak when a column of snow and ice released and swept through them. One trio was completely buried; rescuers recovered the bodies of two men and a woman at the scene on Saturday. Two members of the other group were also carried away and were found deceased on Sunday morning. A spokesman for the Alpine rescue, Federico Catania, said the father and his 17-year-old daughter were dragged to the lower part of the gully where the avalanche occurred. Two other climbers escaped and were flown by helicopter to a hospital in Bolzano.

Emergency services and volunteer mountain rescuers were deployed from Sulden and nearby stations immediately after the alarm, assisted by the Guardia di Finanza Alpine Rescue and Italy’s mountain...