Avalanche in Italian Alps kill woman, 2 girls

Rome, Dec 29 (IANS) A woman and two seven-year-old girls were killed in an avalanche while skiing in Val Senales in the Italian Alps, the media reported on Sunday.The woman, aged 35, was the mother of one of the girls, the BBC quoted reports in the Italian media as saying.The three, all thought to be German, were skiing about 7,900 ft up the Val Senales glacier in South Tyrol, near the Austrian border.A team of 70 workers and three helicopters helped recover the bodies in a search operation.The reports said two victims died at the scene, while one of the girls was airlifted to hospital but died en route.There have been a number of avalanches in the Alps this winter. A skier was rescued after being buried for five hours after an avalanche in Austria on Friday.
--IANS ksk/