Rescue teams are searching for two people feared engulfed by a massive avalanche in western Austria, local media reported.
Initially, up to 10 people were feared missing, according to witness video.
But eight of those individuals have already been identified and are alive, according to the dpa news agency, citing a spokesman for the rescue team. They are from Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, the United States, Croatia and Bosnia, tourism officials said.
One person was quickly recovered, authorities said. No further information is known at this time.
Some 200 rescuers were searching the path of the avalanche near the luxury ski resort of Lech in the Arlberg region.
The avalanche struck a face on the Trittkopf mountain between Zürs and Lech at around 3:00 p.m. local time (2:00 p.m. in the UK), and snow fell as far as nearby ski slopes, the London Press Agency said. Austria (APA).
Several helicopters and search teams soon arrived at the site, it added.
“We are doing everything possible to rescue winter sports enthusiasts,” the Lech municipality was quoted as saying by the APA.
The search would continue “all night if necessary,” Lech-Zuers tourism director Hermann Fercher said during an interview on Austrian public television ORF.
Searchlights were installed in the snowpack to continue the search after darkness fell, and dogs were used to try to find the missing.
There are different types of avalanches, but they can be triggered by natural weather or temperature conditions or by people disturbing unstable snow.
The avalanche followed days of snow in the high alpine region and unusually warm weather on Christmas Day, the APA reported, citing local police.
The Arlberg region in western Austria is famous for its ski and snowboard resorts.
