Three Czech skiers and another of Slovak nationality died in an avalanche in Kyrgyzstan, a small mountainous country in Central Asia, Prague and Bratislava announced on Monday.
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According to Kyrgyz state media, the accident occurred in the northeast, near the border with Kazakhstan and China, in the same area where a French tourist died in similar circumstances in early February.
“23 tourists from the Czech Republic and Slovakia were on skis when an avalanche was triggered,” wrote the official Kyrgyz news agency Kabar, citing rescue services.
Czech Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mariana Wernerova told AFP that three of the four skiers killed were nationals of their country.
“We can confirm that three Czech citizens died in an avalanche accident on the border between Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan,” she said.
Czech diplomats based in Astana, the Kazakh capital, “are in contact with local authorities and the travel agency,” Ms. Wernerova added.
Slovak Foreign Ministry spokesperson Beatrice Szaboova clarified that the fourth person who died in this avalanche was Slovak.
“Our embassy in Astana is following the file and (…) is providing consular assistance,” she told AFP.
Kyrgyzstan, a former Soviet republic with remarkable landscapes and peaks over 7,000 meters above sea level, recently relaxed entry conditions into its territory and lifted certain visa restrictions.
This country is investing in the infrastructure of its still underdeveloped tourism sector, particularly in winter sports, and the authorities are even talking about creating a “Kyrgyz Courchevel,” named after a famous resort in the French Alps.