Avalanches kill five in Austrian Alps, officials say

BBC News - WorldCenterEN 2 min read 100% complete February 21, 2026 at 09:46 AM

AI Summary

medium article 2 min

Five people died in avalanches across the Austrian Alps on Friday due to heavy snowfall. A German man was killed in Nauders, while his son was hospitalized. Three skiers died near St. Anton, with reports suggesting they triggered the avalanche themselves; victims included American, Polish, and Austrian nationals. A snowboarder also died in Vorarlberg. The incidents bring Austria's avalanche-related death toll to at least 21 this winter. Elsewhere, a man in Linz died after being crushed by a snow plough. The heavy snowfall caused power outages and transportation disruptions, including the temporary closure of Vienna International Airport and impassable roads in Styria.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Vienna International Airport 30% Swiss-Italian border 30% Styria 40% Linz 40% Red Cross 40% Nauders 40% Vorarlberg 50% Germany 50% Tyrol 50% St Anton ×380% Austria ×290% Austrian Alps ×290%

Keywords

avalanches 100% austrian alps 90% skiing accident 70% snowfall 60% fatalities 50% rescue operation 50% transport chaos 40% off-piste 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Very Negative

Score: -0.70

Source Transparency

Source

BBC News - World

Political Lean

Center (0.00)

Far LeftCenterFar Right

Classification Confidence

90%

Geographic Perspective

Austrian Alps

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

Topic Connections

Explore how the topics in this article connect to other news stories

No topic relationship data available yet. This graph will appear once topic relationships have been computed.

avalanches austrian alps skiing accident snowfall fatalities rescue operation transport chaos off-piste

Explore Full Topic Graph