ENVIRONMENT

High avalanche risk in Alps amid heavy snow; 1 dead

Associated Press
Published | Updated

People walk or skate on the frozen "Lac des Tailleres" lake (1040 meters above sea level) on the Jura mountain massif in La Brevine, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 4, 2019. (Laurent Gillieron/Keystone via AP)

Trees stand on a snow covered field in Kaufbeuren, Germany, Sunday, Jan.6, 2019. (Karl-Josef Hildenbrand/dpa via AP)

Authorities are warning of high risk of avalanches on the northern side of the Alps, after a female skier died in Bavaria.

German police said Sunday that the 20-year-old woman was buried in an avalanche Saturday on Mount Teisen, near the Austrian border. Her five companions were unharmed.

Heavy snowfall has blanketed parts of southern Germany, Austria and Switzerland in recent days.

Authorities have closed some roads and rail lines due to avalanche risk, while airports in the region have struggled to clear the large amount of fresh snow.

Officials in Austria's Salzburg region described the situation as "very precarious," noting that large avalanches could be triggered spontaneously.

The German weather service DWD forecast a further 40 centimeters (almost 16 inches) of snowfall in some areas by Monday.