German mother, daughter die after rescue from avalanche in Italian Alps

A German mother and her 11-year-old daughter have died after they were were pulled alive from an avalanche in the Italian Alps, mountain rescuers said on Twitter.

The girl died earlier Wednesday from injuries sustained after the avalanche struck in the Venosta valley in Italy's German-speaking province of South Tyrol, a police spokesman told The German Press Agency. The woman suffered life-threatening injuries and later died in hospital.

The two had been part of a group of nine German holidaymakers. The seven others - all members of the same skiing club - were safe, and had not been buried under the avalanche which they most likely caused themselves, the spokesman said.

Reports in the South Tyrolean media said the mother and child came from the city of Ludwigsburg in the south-west of Germany.

Mountain rescuers had deployed helicopters with night-vision equipment to assist in the rescue at an elevation of 2,000 meters above sea level.

The avalanche occurred on Wednesday in the Belpiano-Malga San Valentino ski resort area, known in German as Schoeneben-Haideralm.

The group is believed to have been skiing off piste when the avalanche struck. Poor visibility initially hindered the rescue operation, and helicopters could not immediately be used. The rescue action carried on after dark.

There has been a lot of snow in the Italian Alps in recent days, with fresh snow falling Wednesday afternoon.

In the whole region of South Tyrol, also called Alto Adige in Italian, a "considerable" avalanche warning was in force of level three on a five-level scale.