Ten people were buried under the snow after a Christmas Day avalanche sparked a desperate search and rescue mission.
Reports from western Austria this afternoon revealed the horror after a free skiing area was buried under tonnes of snow.
The avalanche occurred around 3pm local time on the near 9,000ft Trittkopf mountain in Lech/Zuers, and left ten people trapped. Two people are still missing and feared buried under the snow, after eight were rescued.
The nationalities of the two people still feared missing is unknown, but those who have been pulled free are said to be from Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, the USA, Croatia and Bosnia.
Several helicopters and search teams with dogs were deployed to rescue those trapped. By 8.37pm local time authorities said eight had been rescued and the search continues for the two still missing.
The municipality of Lech is reported to have said: “We are doing everything we can to rescue the winter sports enthusiasts."
Before 9pm local time, the State Security Councilor Christian Gantner (ÖVP) said eight were rescued and, of those eight, six were unhurt and two were flown to hospitals in Innsbruck and Bludenz, voralberg.org.at reports.
Around 200 people are said to be involved in the heroic search with rescuers pleading for headlamps so they can continue into the night.
Searchlights were also set up after darkness fell.
The local mountain rescue service had rated the avalanche danger as "high" and the two people still missing are believed to be under the avalanche.
The search would continue “all night if we have to,” Lech-Zuer's tourism director Hermann Fercher said during an interview on Austrian TV.
A picture from the scene shows dozens of rescue workers working on a closed mountain road in the region.
The avalanche followed days of snow in the high alpine region and unseasonably warm weather this Christmas Day.
Lech/Zuers, in western Austria, sells itself as one of the ‘best ski areas’ in the world as a part of the cradle of Alpine skiing.
The resort's website just says that the ski area was closed as of 5pm on Sunday and that there would be an update at 8am on Monday.
The update reads: "Due to an emergency, the L198 Flexenstraße is still closed for at least 3 to 4 hours."
A spokesperson for the Lech/Zeurs told the Mirror: "On Sunday afternoon at around 2.55pm, a large avalanche broke loose in the Lech Zürs ski area and buried up to 10 people near the Trittkopf uphillstation.
"A short time later, one person was rescued alive. A large rescue operation with almost 200 emergency personnel from various blue-light organisations is currently underway: several helicopters from Vorarlberg and Tyrol, mountain rescue teams with avalanche dogs and crisis intervention teams are on the scene of the accident.
"People who are missing relatives as well as eyewitnesses are asked to contact the Lech police station."
In a later update, the resort confirmed the rescue of the majority of the missing people. They said: "In the meantime, eight of ten people have been identified and are alive.
"These are people from Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, the USA, Croatia and Bosnia. Two people are still missing, it is assumed that they are under the avalanche. The search operation will continue until the persons have been secured."
Earlier this year, nine people were killed in three horrific days that saw more than 100 avalanches hit Austria.
Heavy snowfall followed by warmer temperatures combined to create the dangerous conditions in February that triggered the wave of deadly avalanches in the western Tyrol region of the country.
