Eight mountain climbers have died in three separate accidents this weekend in the Austrian and Italian Alps.

Five climbers died and a sixth was severely injured on Sunday on Mount Gabler, east of Innsbruck, the Austrian news agency APA reported, citing the Austrian Red Cross.

The six were roped together when they fell in a very remote area of the mountain at an altitude of about 2,000 metres (6,562ft). The lone survivor was taken by helicopter to a hospital in Salzburg and was in a stable condition, the public broadcaster ORF reported.

The head of the rescue teams, Martin Reichholf, said one member of the group apparently slipped and fell on a glacier, bringing the others down with him, and the group fell 200 metres down a steep slope covered with ice and debris.

All five of those killed were believed to be from Germany, and one was identified as a 34-year-old man from the German state of Bavaria, the German news agency dpa reported.

Two Italians died on Sunday after falling into a crevasse on a glacier in Adamello Brenta park near Trento, in northern Italy.

They were part of a group of nine mountaineers, believed to be two families, including two 13-year olds, the remainder of whom were injured. The cause of the fall was not immediately known.

Another Italian climber died on Saturday after being hit by boulders in the Valtellina Alpine area, further west of Trento near the border with Switzerland.