On Monday, the 11th of March, helicopters searched for a missing skier near Switzerland’s Matterhorn Mountain, while five other, members of a family, were found dead in “catastrophic” conditions. The cross-country skiers had disappeared on Saturday on the Zermatt-Arolla piste, reports Reuters.
Authorities have not named a cause of death for the five people found late on Sunday evening, but described conditions on the mountains with avalanches, snow storms and extreme temperatures as “catastrophic”.
Christian Varone, the canton’s police chief, told a press conference on Monday that finding the sixth missing person was their top priority. However, he stressed that they had to be realistic, given the difficult circumstances in which the person may have been in the last 48 hours.
This is one of the worst accidents in the Swiss Alps in recent years.
Eleven helicopters and a five-man team went on a search and rescue mission near Matterhorn over the weekend after a skier issued an alarm. However, due to a storm and heavy snow, at the end of Saturday the search team had to return only 500 metres from where it was last known that the group had disappeared.
Swiss President Viola Amherd expressed her condolences to the families and her gratitude to the rescue teams.
Police said the group of skiers included people aged between 21 and 58, with an official investigation underway.
Authorities are advising extreme caution as the risk of avalanches remains in the region, which claimed the life of another skier in a separate incident in the same canton over the weekend. The road to Zermatt, a world-famous ski resort, has been closed due to a partial avalanche, police said.
Also read: Kate Middleton apologises for “editing” Mother’s Day photo that caused uproar
Follow us on Facebook and X!