Five died in Austrian avalanches on Jan. 17, 2026, part of a deadly weekend across the Alps.

Five people died in two avalanches in Austria’s Salzburg region on January 17, 2026, with four fatalities in the Grossarl Valley and one in Bad Hofgastein, according to Austrian broadcaster ORF. Earlier, a German man died in a Swiss avalanche, and four others were injured. In France, six skiers died in separate avalanche incidents over the weekend. The fatalities follow a series of deaths across the Alps, linked to heavy snowfall and unstable snowpack increasing avalanche risks.