Five skiers have been killed in a pair of avalanches in the Salzburg Pongau region of western Austria on Saturday, authorities said.

Four skiers were killed by a snow slide in the Gastein Valley, south of of the city of Salzburg, that swept away seven people. Two were injured � one seriously � and a third escaped unharmed, the APA news agency reported.

�This tragedy painfully demonstrates how serious the current avalanche situation is,� said Gerhard Kremser, district head of the Pongau mountain rescue service, noting the �clear and repeated warnings” about the avalanche risk.

Four rescue helicopters, mountain rescue and Red Cross dog teams, and a crisis intervention team were rushed to the scene.

About 90 minutes earlier, a female skier died after being buried under an avalanche in the nearby Bad Hofgastein area, at an altitude of about 2,200 meters (7,200 feet), APA said.

(AP)