Doomed mountaineer took beaming selfie moments before avalanche crushed him to death

dailystar.co.uk:

READ MORE: Ukraine volunteer 'hanging out' with pretty translator on frontline after wife leaves himThe Italian was one of at least seven hikers who were killed in the tragedy, with five people still missing.However, due to the scale of the avalanche and difficult conditions facing rescue teams, hope of finding the missing climbers alive are fading.The father-of-one, who lived in Malo, Vicenza province, with his partner, Jelena, and four-year-old son, Filippo, was identified by his family as one of the victims.His brother, Andrea, said his brother sent the smiling selfie in front of the glacier 20 minutes before the avalanche."He passed away doing what he loved," Andrea told Italian state TV."Filippo was a great lover of the mountains and nature in general."He had already done several high-altitude outings, always accompanied by experienced people and with all the necessary equipment."The deluge of ice fell on a route usually taken by hikers to reach the summit of the mountain, the Alpine rescue said.A local official said the part that broke loose was around 200 metres wide, 80 metres high and 60 metres deep - and plummeted down the mountain at nearly 200 miles per hour.The region has been hit with a heatwave in recent weeks and the Dolomite summit has reached record temperatures, with experts suggesting this might have caused the glacier collapse.

The incident led to the evacuation of the mountain as officials warned there was a risk of further collapses.The Czech foreign ministry said two of its nationals were among those who lost their lives, while at least three of the dead were Italians, authorities said.Of the eight injured, two Germans, a 67-year-old man and a 58-year-old woman, were said to be in a serious.