The sudden arrival of winter across Austria Saturday caused a rash of road accidents, killing one elderly man, while one person was reported missing following an avalanche, officials said.
Alpine rescue services were searching for a Hungarian man in the southern province of Styria after he was caught in an avalanche while hiking in the Hochschwab region with altitudes of 1,800 metres (5,900 feet).
The search operation including a helicopter was continuing Saturday evening, but conditions were difficult and dangerous because of the fresh snow, officials said.
An 81-year-old man was killed Saturday morning in the outskirts of Vienna after his car crashed into a tree following a collision with another vehicle, police said.
In northern Austria, two drivers were seriously injured in a collision near the ski resort of Bad Ischl after one of the cars skidded on the snow-laden road and crashed into the other.
Austria saw its first snow overnight with some Alpine regions registering up to 30 centimetres of fresh snow.
