MADRID, 1 Abr. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Three people have died missing after an avalanche that occurred this Monday near the town of Zermatt, in southern Switzerland, according to the Valais cantonal police.
Several skiers were surprised by the avalanche, which occurred shortly after 2:00 p.m., at about 2,500 meters of altitude, a spokesperson for the Valais canton police explained in statements to Swiss television SRF.
The rescue operation has been made difficult by the magnitude of the avalanche and the arrival of night. Helicopters and trained tracking dogs are usually used in this type of rescue.
Weather forecasts had warned of the risk of avalanches in particular due to the strong winds that hit the region. The avalanche alert is at level 4, the second highest, in Graubuenden and the southern Valais valleys.
This winter, 17 people have died from avalanches in Switzerland, according to the balance sheet of the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL). Up to 194 people have suffered avalanches in 146 incidents, most of them skiers.
