1954 Blons avalanches

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The Blons avalanches in Austria hold the record for the worst mass burial by avalanche in recorded history.

The small village of Blons near Bludenz, Vorarlberg in the Austrian Alps was hit by an avalanche at 9:36 a.m. on 12 January 1954. A second avalanche hit the village at 7 p.m. as rescue workers attempted to dig out survivors of the first avalanche. The village had a population of 376 people, of whom 111 were killed. Eight of the survivors later died in hospital. Two bodies were never found. 29 of the 90 buildings in the village were destroyed.

The nearby Leduc mine suffered even more. Of the approximately six hundred miners working there, half were buried under the snow; most of them died.^[1]

[edit] Notes

^ It should be noted that quoted figures for the death toll in the Blons avalanches vary wildly - some sources state as few as 56 deaths. Most sources do not mention the Leduc mine at all.