Avalanche takes several people with it near Zermatt VS
Published: Monday, Apr 1st 2024, 17:10
Updated At: Monday, Apr 1st 2024, 17:10
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An avalanche swept away several people near Zermatt VS on Monday afternoon. The rescue services launched a search, according to the Valais cantonal police. The avalanche broke loose on the Riffelberg in a variant area.
The avalanche occurred shortly after 2 p.m., as the police wrote on the short message service X. A large-scale rescue operation was underway, a police spokesperson told the Keystone-SDA news agency on request. The police did not initially provide any further details.
A lot of fresh snow and gale-force winds had previously caused a considerable avalanche risk in the southern Alps of Switzerland. On Easter Monday, there was great danger in parts of Graubünden and Valais. "Very large and occasionally extremely large spontaneous avalanches are to be expected," said the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) in Davos GR on Monday.
So far this winter, 14 people have died in avalanches in the mountains in Switzerland. According to the WSL Institute, a total of 194 people have been caught in avalanches in 146 accidents. Most of the victims were ski tourers.
©Keystone/SDA
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