Abu dhabi: Three people were killed on Saturday in avalanches while skiing off-piste in the northern Italian regions of Trentino Alto Adige and Lombardy, the Alpine rescue service said. The incidents occurred amid heavy snowfall that has affected the Alps in recent days.

According to Emirates News Agency, two avalanches struck the Marmolada area in the Dolomites, close to Cortina d'Ampezzo, which is currently hosting the women's Alpine skiing competitions of the Milano Cortina Winter Games. Rescuers recovered the body of a man who had been skiing off-piste with three others at Punta Rocca, a 3,300-metre peak on the Marmolada massif-the highest mountain in the Dolomites. The Alpine rescue service reported that the man died after being buried by snow he had triggered, despite immediate search efforts by his companions and assistance from other skiers before the rescuers arrived.

In a separate incident, two off-piste skiers lost their lives in Albosaggia, a village located in the lower Valtellina valley, about 65 kilometres east of Bormio, where the men's Alpine skiing competitions are currently being held. The rescue service has not yet confirmed reports of a possible fourth victim in Trentino Alto Adige, where local media suggested that a man injured in an earlier avalanche later succumbed to his injuries in hospital.

Heavy snowfall in the Alps in recent days has been responsible for triggering several avalanches. Earlier this week, two Finnish skiers were also killed in an avalanche in Trentino Alto Adige.