Tourists among Four Killed in Norway Avalanches

Four people, including foreign tourists, were killed Friday as multiple avalanches hit Norway's far north, including one which swept a house and a barn into the sea, police said.

According to police, a group of tourists were caught in an avalanche in the Kvalvikdalen valley in Norway's far north on Friday afternoon, reports AFP. 

"There were five people of foreign origin that were on an outing in the area. We can confirm that one person is deceased," Morten Pettersen, a spokesman for the police, told journalists. 

Pettersen added two others were hurt, one critically and one with "moderate injuries." The others were unharmed.

Pettersen said authorities were working on identifying the victim and contacting consular services to inform their next of kin.

Dan-Havard Johnsen, mayor of the Lyngen municipality, told AFP that the group was from Italy. But it had not been confirmed whether the deceased was Italian.

About half an hour after the first report, police received notice of another avalanche on the nearby island of Reinoya "where a house and a barn were caught in the snow mass and carried into the sea," Pettersen said, adding that two people had been confirmed dead.

Police also said there were about 140 goats in the barn at the time of the incident.

Later in the evening, police said in a statement that a fourth person had been killed in another avalanche by the Tverrelva river in the Nordreisa area.

"The person was part of a larger foreign travelling party. Another member of the travelling party who was at the scene located the person and alerted the emergency services," police said, without specifying their nationality.