A mother and her child died after being caught in an avalanche in northern Finland, after temperatures dropped to minus 20 degrees Celsius and the wind blew away their sleds, police said.
The woman, whose name has not been revealed, was found on Tuesday at 10pm local time, buried in an avalanche in the Pihakuru Valley in Finnish Lapland, near the border with Sweden.
The child, who has also not been identified, was found nearby at around 11.30am on Thursday.
Police said strong winds “significantly reduced visibility.”
Lapland police said on Thursday that the couple, who were not from Lapland, were headed to a local hotel after spending several days on a self-guided ski trip in the nearby Balasunturi region.
Temperatures in the area dropped to minus 20 degrees Celsius and winds were strong, “resulting in significantly reduced visibility,” police said.
Rescuers began searching for the couple on Tuesday after the woman raised the alarm around 2pm.
The woman told emergency responders that the wind had smashed their skis and poles, said Harry Baldanius, head of Lapland's rescue services, adding: “It was very cold and it was getting dark.”
Conditions were so bad, Baldanius added, that the two snowmobile drivers said they “couldn't remember having been through anything like this before. It was difficult to drive the snowmobile down the slope, and the cell phones were almost blown over by the wind.”
He added that the woman put her phone in her jacket pocket in order to conserve the battery, but added, “When we tried to call them again, there was no answer, but the phone rang.”
Last week, a British mother and her son were killed in an avalanche on Mont Blanc, France.
they The family said they are “beyond grief” After the “tragic accident”.
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Rescuers began searching for the couple on Tuesday
In the search in Lapland, efforts focused on an avalanche about 400 meters wide in Bihakuru, despite the size of the avalanche zone and the risk of another avalanche.
Accumulating snow and strong winds resulted in poor visibility and rescue dogs could only be used for very short periods at a time due to the frost.
Lapland Police Crime Commissioner said the search was temporarily halted due to dangerous weather conditions on Tuesday and Wednesday, as safety was the priority.
