three people killed and two missing after avalanche in italy

Mountain rescue teams were sent out to find survivors after the avalanche (Picture: Karl-Josef Hildenbrand / Avalon)

Three people have died after an avalanche pummeled through them in Italy’s Ortles mountain today.

The incident happened as two groups of hikers reached 3,200 metres in Cima Vertana,a train in the South Tyrol.

The first,which consisted of three people,was engulfed engulfed by the monstrous flow of snow and ice.

A woman and two men were killed,while two others are injured. Another two mountaineers are still missing.

The victims have been identified as German nationals. They have not yet been named,but all were all ‘young’,AGI News reported.

Their bodies have since been recovered from the area where the incident happened,it is understood.

The alarm was raised around 3.50 PM after the avalanche reportedly broke away from below the summit.

Search operations are ongoing to find the two hikers who are still missing and possibly trapped in the snow.

Three German mountaineers were confirmed to have died in the incident (Picture: Karl-Josef Hildenbrand / Avalon)

Two helicopters,‘Pelikan 1’ and ‘Pelikan 3,’ were dispatched to the scene,along with volunteer firefighters and rescue teams.

Drones have also been deployed to assist.

Among mountaineering and ski mountaineering enthusiasts,the 3,545-metre-high Cima Vertana is one of the most popular peaks in the area.

Up until mid-July,11 people have been killed in avalanches across Italy,according to data by the European Avalanche Warning Services (EAWS).