WARSAW (Reuters) - Rescue teams saved five people buried in an avalanche in the Tatra Mountains of southern Poland, mountain safety services said on Wednesday.
The avalanche occurred 24 kilometres (15 miles) south of the spa town of Zakopaneon on Poland's highest mountain, Rysy, which rises 2,503 metres (8,212 feet) above sea level.
"The condition of three people is serious. One person has already been transported to the hospital in Zakopane. Our helicopter is transporting other victims," rescue worker Stanislaw Krzeptowski-Sabala told private TV broadcaster TVN24.
State news agency PAP said mountain services have set the threat of avalanche in Tatra Mountains at moderate. That means avalanches could be triggered, especially on steep slopes.
The 16th anniversary of the worst avalanche in the Tatra Mountains took place two days ago. Eight high school students died on the Rysy mountain in 2003.
(Reporting by Marcin Goclowski and Wojciech Zurawski; editing by Alison Williams, Larry King)