OSLO, Norway — Austrian skier Matthias Lanzinger had his lower left leg amputated Tuesday because of complications after breaking two bones in a crash at a World Cup event.

Lanzinger broke his shinbone and fibula Sunday during the super-G event. The double fracture severely damaged blood vessels, which hampered blood circulation in the leg of the 27-year-old skier.

The Austrian ski federation said the surgery Monday night was only partly successful and left doctors no other option in an effort to avoid further health risks.

"The blood circulation in the foot was re-established but due to the long time of ischemia, the circulation could not be stabilized," said doctor Thomas Hoelzenbein, who was flown in from Austria Monday to lead the operation.

Organizers of the race in Kvitfjell, Norway, were criticized because no medical helicopter was available. Lanzinger was flown to a hospital in Lillehammer in a tourist helicopter, and was later brought to Oslo.

"The lacking safety measures at these races are shocking," Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer said in Tuesday editions of the Austria Presse Agency. "I can't understand how a World Cup race could be organized at such a low safety level."

Lanzinger, who started 30th, crashed near the finish after hitting a gate. The race, won by his teammate Georg Streitberger, was interrupted for more than 30 minutes.

Lanzinger's career best World Cup result was third at a super-G in Beaver Creek, Colo., in December 2005.

The amputation was scheduled to take place later today.