Snow Cuts Off Austrian Region Of Vorarlberg

[Summer Sun]

Heavy snow has blocked road and rail services to Austria's western province of Vorarlberg, near the Swiss border.

Fallen trees on the key S16 road cut off access to the Arlberg tunnel between Austria and Switzerland.

Austrian rail service OeBB said the Arlberg train route would be closed on Monday.

Officials said that up to 60cm (23in) snow had fallen overnight into Monday and the risk of avalanches was high, assessed at four on a scale of five.

Since Thursday, the Vorarlberg region has seen two to three metres (6-10ft) of snow.

Areas of Montafon and Bregenzer Wald have been described as cut off and there is no access to a number of ski resorts, including Lech and Zuers.

The authorities have already blasted some areas of heavy snow to prevent avalanches from becoming too large.

Snow has also blocked off roads in the Salzburg region and rail services in the Innsbruck area have been affected.

Rescue teams resumed a search on Monday for a 15-year-old skier missing from a resort south-west of Innsbruck since Saturday, Austrian media said.

Thousands of tourists and residents were snowed in at resorts on the Arlberg mountain on Friday and a major east-west railway line in Tirol province was closed over the weekend.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16467352