Rene Hofer was only 19 when he lost his life. Image credit: Red Bull.
Rene Hofer, 19, was among three of the young men killed in an avalanche as the group sought to ascend a mountain in Austria. It was confirmed on Sunday that the young racer was among three men killed in the tragic incident.
On Saturday, about 8 out of an 11 strong skiing group were hit by a 200 yard wide of snow.
As the searchers attended to the scene, they were able to locate two of the men with their search devices. Unfortunately, one of the men had already died on the scene while another died at a hospital in which he was taken to by helicopter.
Among two of the three men were aged between 19 and 24. The third buried skier wasn’t carrying a search device. His body was located about four hours after the avalanche and recovered.
Another two skiers were buried in the snow but could manage to free themselves after which they were taken to a local hospital.
Rene Hofer was described by his team as a “multi-time junior champion and GP winner with a bright future in Grand Prix ahead of him”.
Many took to social media to share their condolences with the family and remember Rene Hofer as the rising star he was.
In late October, Hofer won his maiden Grand Prix victory in the MX2 class, becoming the first Austrian in 34 years to win a main-category event in the sport.