Read news from:
Austria
SHARE
COPY LINK

SKIING

Two skiers killed in Swiss avalanche

Two cross-country skiers have been killed in an avalanche near the plush resort of Klosters in southeast Switzerland, police said Saturday.

Published: 24 March 2024 09:16 CET
This photo shows the site of an avalanche that in March 2018 injured four people near Crans-Montana in the canton of Valais.
This photo shows the site of an avalanche that in March 2018 injured four people near Crans-Montana in the canton of Valais. On Friday, two skiers were killed in an avalanche near Klosters. (Photo by handout / Swiss Police of the Canton of Valais / AFP) 

The accident happened on Friday, the Graubunden regional police said.

“In the Schintersiten area they took a slope with a steep gradient,” a police statement said.

“Several avalanches broke out and dragged the two men about 200 metres down the rocky terrain.

“As a result, both the 54-year-old and his 57-year-old companion, both of whom lived in the canton of Bern, were fatally injured.”

The Graubunden public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation alongside the cantonal police.

Before Friday’s accident, 12 people had lost their lives in avalanches in Switzerland since October 1 last year, according to statistics from the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research.

A total of 142 avalanche-related accidents have occurred, with 188 people swept away.

Earlier this month, six cross-country skiers went missing in a storm near the southern luxury resort of Zermatt. The group, aged 21 to 58, included five members of the same family.

Five bodies were recovered and the search for the sixth person was ultimately called off.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

FLOODS

Switzerland counts the cost of latest storms with more extreme weather forecast

Thousands have been evacuated and crucial transport routes have been cut by the storms and torrential rains that swept across Switzerland once again.

Published: 1 July 2024 12:03 CEST
Switzerland counts the cost of latest storms with more extreme weather forecast

Landslides and flash flooding resulted from the severe weather conditions that hit the southern cantons of Ticino and Valais, which left seven dead and more missing.

Some regions are reported to have received up to 200 litres of rain per square metre over the past three days.

Federal President Viola Amherd was set to visit the impacted regions today and meet with local authorities. 

Ticino: Disbelief amidst evacuations

In Ticino, much of the Maggia Valley remained cut off from the rest of the country, after the Visletto bridge was swept away near Cevio. 

Emergency services evacuated residents in nearby communities that were left without drinking water and communications in the Italian-speaking canton. 

Some 70 people were evacuated from a summer camp in the Lavizzara valley at Mogno and 300 were evacuated from a football tournament in Peccia.

Cantonal police have set up three contact points in Fusio, Piano di Peccia, and San Carlo for those who still lack communication or are worried about friends and family.

The extent of the devastation has left many locals stunned. 

In a press conference on a Sunday, the visibly shaken mayor of Lavizzara, Gabriele Dazio, told reporters: “I never believed that my eyes would one day see such devastation”, and that he did not know how he could give his community a future. 

At the same press conference, cantonal President Christian Vitta urged solidarity with the affected regions, saying: “The Alpine region was put to a tough test last week. It is important for the entire Alpine arc to feel the proximity of the Swiss population these days.”

Valais: Transport severely affected

Valais was also severely impacted by the weekend’s storms. 

Access to the Saas Valley was severed, with several roads blocked by landslides or flood damage. 

A dam near Niedergesteln broke in three places, threatening houses and roads in the area. 

The flooding led to the closure of the rail line between Leuk and Gampel-Steg. The SBB notes that it may take until Tuesday before connections are resumed.

The A9 between Sierre and Sion was also temporarily closed. It was reopened on Monday morning, but motorists repeated significant delays. 

Several vital road passes through the Alps in the canton were also affected. 

Road travel through the Simplon Pass remains blocked by landslides, although trains are still running through the Brig–Iselle tunnel. 

The Grimsel Pass also remains closed until further notice, due to storm damage in Goms. 

Additionally, the Furkel Pass is expected to remain closed until mid-July, after a landslide blocked the route. 

Slight reprieve before more storms

While the Swiss meteorological service, MeteoSchweiz, forecast a temporary decrease in severe weather over the next few days, the relief may be short-lived.

Temperatures are predicted to remain in the mid-twenties over the next five days, with rain showers across much of the country. 

According to models from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), however, storms are set to return on Saturday.

This presents a problem, according to MeteoNews meteorologist Klaus Marquardt, who highlighted the incredible amounts of rain recorded in already devastated regions: “That’s an extremely high amount – especially in such a short period,”

If soil is already waterlogged, he continued, then we could see a repeat of scenes from this past weekend.

SHOW COMMENTS