2 Italian hikers killed after avalanche in Alps

ROME — Mountain rescue teams found the bodies of two Italian hikers after an avalanche on Sunday (Jan 7) in the Alps close to the border between Italy and Switzerland.

One body was found buried in snow while the other was recovered from a lake after the avalanche at a height of around 2,200 metres in the Val Formazza area in Italy's Piedmont region, Alpine rescue group CNSAS said in a statement.

A specialist rescue team was sent to the scene by helicopter despite strong winds in the area after the alarm was raised around midday (7pm Singapore time). A dog trained in rescue operations also helped to find the bodies.

The victims, who had been wearing snowshoes to help navigate the mountain, were a 30-year-old woman and a man aged 53, Italian media reported. They were from the region of Lombardy in northern Italy.

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