Alps avalanche alert after seven killed as huge snow storm strikes Austrian and German ski resorts

Bavaria in South Germany was just one of the holiday regions to be blasted as ski resorts were evacuated ahead of forecasts for 16in of fresh snow over the coming days.

The past week has proved deadly for skiers, after a 28-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman who went missing while snowshoeing were found dead near Salzburg in central Austria.

Forty rescuers with dogs were still searching for two others who went missing while snowshoeing near Hohenberg in Lower Austria, Austrian news agency APA reported.

In Germany, a 44-year-old skier died in Wackersberg, Bavaria, when he was hit by tree branches brought down by heavy snow, police said. He died instantly.

Authorities also said Monday that a woman who was buried by an avalanche last week in the Uri canton (state) of Switzerland died of her injuries on Saturday.

Also on the weekend, three skiers in Austria were killed by avalanches. A 20-year-old womenan died on Saturday after she was buried by an avalanche on the Teisenberg mountain range in Upper Bavaria, near the Austrian border.

The Hochkar alpine road and the entire Hochkar skiing region in Lower Austria were closed because of the high risk of avalanches. Residents and visitors were asked to leave the region by the end of the day.

Austrian authorities warned skiers not to go off the slopes and not drive their cars unless needed. More snow was forecast for the coming days and the alpine country said it was getting mountaineer teams and helicopters ready for possible rescue missions.

In Bavaria, authorities also had to close roads and some train lines because of heavy snowfall and in some parts of southern Bavaria and the Steiermark region in Austria, schools were closed Monday because of the weather conditions.

Police in Norway on Monday released the names of four skiers a 29-year Swedish woman and three Finns, aged 29, 32 and 36 who are presumed dead after a 990-foot-wide avalanche was reported Wednesday in Tamok valley, near the northern city of Tromsoe.

Heavy snowfall and poor visibility had hampered rescue efforts over the past few days.

Meanwhile, the Netherlands was bracing for strong winds. National carrier KLM cancelled 159 flights Tuesday to and from European destinations because Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport will use only one of its runways due to the expected storm.

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