Intro:

A moment's silence was held before the FIS World Cup men's slalom event in Zagreb, Croatia on Tuesday (6th January) in tribute to two junior U.S. Ski Team athletes killed in an avalanche in Austria on Monday (5th January).

Script:

The Glacier road in Soelden was closed on Tuesday, a day after an avalanche struck and killed two US skiers.

The United States Ski and Snowboard Association (USSA) revealed on Monday that two of their development team, 20-year-old Ronnie Berlack and 19-year-old Bryce Astle were killed, while four others managed to ski to safety.

It happened near the Rettenbach glacier in the mountains over Soelden, which has been the U.S. Ski Team's European training base since 2011.

Berlack from Franconia, New Hampshire, and Astle, from Sandy, Utah, were part of a group of six skiers who were descending from the 3,000-metre Gaislachkogel when they left the prepared slope and apparently set off the avalanche.

In Zagreb, Croatia, a moment's silence was held before the start of the FIS World Cup men's slalom event after the death of the two skiers.