Pilot and mountain guide among those killed in helicopter crash in Valais
Published: Wednesday, Apr 3rd 2024, 19:40
Updated At: Wednesday, Apr 3rd 2024, 20:20
Volver a Live Feed
The pilot, the mountain guide and a heliskiing tourist died in the helicopter crash on the Petit-Combin in Lower Valais on Tuesday. This was reported by the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland to the Keystone-SDA news agency on Wednesday.
As soon as the formal identification of all three deceased persons has been completed, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland will also announce their nationality and age, said media spokeswoman Lina von Burg. The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland is responsible for prosecuting aviation accidents in accordance with the Aviation Act.
There was initially no new information on the cause or the exact course of the accident. An investigation by the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board (Sust) is currently underway. Such investigations usually take several months.
The criminal proceedings of the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland and the Sust investigation are being conducted independently of each other. However, as Sust and the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland have to work with some of the same evidence, close coordination and joint management of the evidence is necessary, explained Linda von Burg.
Drama on a heliskiing tour
According to the Valais cantonal police on Tuesday, the helicopter crashed into the northern slope during a heli-skiing tour on the Petit Combin mountain landing site. The pilot, a mountain guide and four heliskiing tourists were on board.
Seven helicopters from Air-Glaciers, Air Zermatt and Rega flew to the scene to rescue the casualties. Two injured people received immediate medical treatment before being flown to the hospital in Sion.
A third person was also rescued later. The other three occupants of the aircraft could only be rescued dead.
The helicopter involved in the accident was an Air-Glaciers aircraft. The company said on Tuesday that it was "deeply saddened and indescribably affected by this event".
The 3663-metre-high Petit Combin, located between the Val de Bagnes and the Val d'Entremont, is a popular starting point for heli-skiing.
Series of accidents
It was the third helicopter accident in Valais this year. In mid-February, a pilot who was alone on board crashed and was injured in the Niouc area.
In mid-March, a helicopter crashed on a training ground in the municipality of Vétroz. One of the two occupants was slightly injured.
©Keystone/SDA
Spanish 
English 
German 
French 
Arabic