A cross country skier in Norway was killed in an avalanche on Monday, according to reports in the Associated Press. Police say the avalanche buried the skier under three metres of snow. The accident occurred on the island of Uloeya.
Officer Tor Einar Eilersen, of the Troms district police said that the name, age and nationality of the man have not yet been released. He said that no other skier had been caught in the avalanche.
According to Eilersen, the man was found 90 minutes after the avalanche occurred. Rescuers were hindered in their efforts to reach the man due to the remoteness of his location.
Uloeya Island is located in the Norwegian Arctic, north of Tromso. Although those who were skiing with the man initiated a search soon after the avalanche, it took time for others to arrive and assist.
The avalanche occurred at 12:14 local time (22:14GMT).
According to reports in the Nordlys newspaper, a group of skiers was attempting to cross a mountaintop approximately 1,000 metres long in bad weather when the avalanche occurred. The avalanche affected mainly the lower part of the mountain.
Uloeya is located 460 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle and 1,380 kilometers north of Norway’s capital, Oslo.