ITALY – A massive avalanche struck Saturday morning in the Italian Alps, sweeping away and burying a large group of people — killing at least six of them, state news reported.

The snow and ice began crashing down Monte Nevoso, or Snowy Mountain, around 11:15 a.m. (5:15 a.m. ET), according to Italy’s official ANSA news agency. At the time, more than a dozen people were at more than 3,000 meters (9,840 feet) altitude, on their way to the summit of the second-highest mountain in Vedrette di Ries, a mountain group not far from Italy’s border with Austria near Val Pusteria (or Puster Valley). Some managed to dig themselves out from snow, with ANSA reporting one wounded and eight people total rescued. But at least six — five locals from Val Pusteria and an Austrian citizen — did not survive.(CNN/photo: kron4.com)…[+]