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Davos (dpa) - In Switzerland, more people were hit by avalanches last winter than the average over the past 20 years.
There were twice as many avalanches with personal involvement, a total of 215, as reported by the Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) in Davos.
The amount of fresh snow and the depth of snow would also have been above average.
From October 1, 2020 to March 30, 2021, 318 avalanches with personal injury or property damage were registered.
296 people were recorded, compared with 177 on average.
27 people were killed, compared to an average of 18 people a year.
According to the institute, all of them were winter sports enthusiasts who were out and about in unsecured terrain.
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The reasons for the higher number of avalanche victims are, among other things, weak layers of old snow, several times large amounts of fresh snow and, in some cases, very large avalanches.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210331-99-37989 / 2
Communication from the SLF