Four killed in Oz avalanche, skiing, sledding accidents

Four people have died over the weekend in Austria while skiing, snow-shoeing or sledding - an unusually high toll linked to winter sports in the country.

The Austria Press Agency says that two Czech nationals snow-shoeing in Salzburg's alpine region died on Sunday after being buried in an avalanche.

While the two others had managed to free themselves.

State broadcaster ORF says the two other deaths had taken place on Saturday.

It said that it was on Monday that a German man was killed after he hit a rock head first while sledding on the snow near the Swiss border, and an Austrian skier died after colliding with a snow-boarder on a slope near the Italian border.

The snow-boarder was only slightly hurt.