Three Czechs Die in Avalanches in Kyrgyzstan

Avalanches in Kyrgyzstan’s northern district of Ak-Suu killed three Czech citizens over the weekend, Stalbek Usubakunov, a spokesman for the Issyk-Kul regional police department said.

According to Usubakunov, 19 other Czechs survived the avalanches on February 25.

The bodies of the deceased were recovered and brought to a morgue in the city of Karakol. Authorities have not yet publicly released information about the identities of the victims.

Avalanches in the mountainous area of Kyrgyzstan occur very often in late winter and spring.

Czech foreign ministry spokeswoman Mariana Wernerova told AFP that three of the dead skiers were Czech nationals. “We can confirm that three Czech citizens have died in an avalanche on the border between Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan,” she said.

Czech diplomats in the Kazakh capital Astana “are in touch with local authorities and the travel agency,” Wernerova added.

Slovak foreign ministry spokeswoman Beatrice Szaboova said the fourth victim was Slovak.

“Our embassy in Astana is following the case and… providing consular assistance,” she told AFP.

A former Soviet country, Kyrgyzstan has for years been trying to invest in its still underdeveloped tourism sector, particularly in winter sports.

It recently eased visa restrictions in a bid to attract more foreign tourists, many of whom come for its vast and towering mountain ranges that reach some 7,000 metres in altitude.