Eight skiers died in three separate avalanches across the Austrian Alps on Saturday, days after heavy snowfall raised the avalanche risk for the mountain range, the local authorities said.

Three avalanches across Austria killed eight skiers, authorities said, as hazardous snowslides continue to claim lives around the world in the first month of 2026.

Four skiers died when an avalanche struck a group of seven off-piste skiers, on the 2,150-metre Finsterkopf peak in the Grossarl Valley in the Salzburg state, rescuers said