Swede swept away by avalanche

A 22-year-old skier from Sweden had a narrow escape after he was pulled down a hill by an avalanche yesterday (Sun).Authorities in Vorarlberg announced today that the man sustained no injuries when he was dragged down a 100-metre embankment by the snow in the incident. He was able to continue skiing down to the valley where he reported the incident which occurred off prepared pistes at the winter sport resort of Albona, they added.Officials said the avalanche hitting the man – who was accompanied by a friend – was around 80 metres wide.Alpine authorities warned just some days ago that the risk of avalanches in western Austria was currently on the rise due to changing temperatures and freshly fallen snow.People doing ski tours, snowboarders and skiers have been urged by safety experts not to leave prepared slopes under any circumstances to avoid being killed by an avalanche.