ANCHORAGE, (Alaska): Alaska State Troopers say a 28-year-old Italian tourist was killed when he was crushed by a large piece of ice that broke from a glacier.
Troopers say Alexander Hellweger, of Sand in Taufers in northern Italy, died Sunday at Lake George Glacier, north of Anchorage.
Hellweger was with a group of eight friends from Italy and Belgium who were vacationing in Alaska. Guides had taken seven members of the party to the backcountry by helicopter to go skiing
The party was later taken to the glacier site. Troopers spokeswoman Beth Ipsen says the group was gathering for a photo when someone ran after hearing the ice crack.
Hellweger was struck by an ice chunk.
His body was not immediately retrieved because of diminishing light and the danger of more ice breaking. -AP