About 10 people are missing, potentially buried, following an avalanche in western Austria, local media has reported.
One person has been rescued following the avalanche in the free skiing area near the upmarket Lech ski resort, which struck at about 3pm local time, the Austrian Press Agency (APA) said.
It added that several helicopters and search teams soon raced to the site in the Lech Zürs area, which sits in the Arlberg region.
“We are doing everything we can to rescue the winter sports enthusiasts,” APA quoted the municipality of Lech as saying.
Some 100 people scrambled to help with the search, and rescuers requested headtorches so that they could continue in the dark.
There are different types of avalanches, but they can be triggered by natural weather or temperature conditions or by people when they disturb unstable snow.
The avalanche followed days of snow in the high alpine region and unseasonably warm weather on Christmas Day, the APA reported, citing local police. The local mountain rescue service had rated the avalanche danger as “high”.
The Arlberg region in western Austria is famous for its ski and snowboard resorts.