The climbing community is reeling after several Austrian Alps deaths were reported over the weekend.
Five climbers died in the Austrian Alps on Sunday while a sixth climber was severely injured, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported. The six were climbing in a group and had all been roped together when one of the members slipped and fell on a glacier, bringing the others down with him.
Dr. Egbert Ritter, a trauma surgeon at the AUVA hospital in Salzburg, told CNN that the climbers had fallen around 300 meters.
He noted that the lone survivor, a 60-year-old man, was airlifted to a hospital and admitted to intensive care with non-life threatening injuries.
All five of the climbers who were killed were from Germany and one of the victims has been identified as a 34-year-old man from Bavaria, The Guardian reported.
In two separate incidents, three Italian mountain climbers also died this weekend.
One climber was killed after he was hit by boulders in the Valtellina Alpine area on Saturday, Time reported.
Two others died after they fell in a crevasse in the Italian Alps.
The two climbers had been with a group of nine mountaineers, believed to be two families, who had all been roped together.
According to CNN, the two fell when one of the climbers on the lowest rope slipped on a glacier, pulling down others from higher up on the slope.
One of the victims was allegedly rescued on Sunday but later died from injury.
Meanwhile two others, including a 14-year-old boy, were seriously injured in the incident and receiving treatment.