Skiers feared buried after Swiss avalanche
GENEVA: An avalanche left three skiers injured and one dead at a resort in the Swiss Alps where rescue operations went on after dark with police fearing people could still be trapped under the snow.
Police announced yesterday that one of the four people who were found in the avalanche died.
The man was a 34-year-old French citizen who worked for the local snow patrol and who was badly injured by the mass of snow that hit the piste the previous day on Tuesday, according to a tweet by the police department of the Valais region.
Swiss RTS television said the army had set up lighting to aid the 240 rescue workers at the site.
A local newspaper, Le Nouvelliste, had quoted the head of CransMontana’s municipal government, Nicolas Feraud, as estimating that “between 10 and 12 people” were buried under the snow.
“We are shocked and hope for good news about these people,” Feraud was quoted as saying.
A first attempt at locating victims using sniffer dogs was unsuccessful, a rescue worker said, with four helicopters joining the search.
Pierre Huguenin, of the Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research, described the snow in the area as damp and dense.
According to statistics from his institute, after 15 minutes under an avalanche, the chances of survival are no more than 50%.
Le Nouvelliste quoted rescue workers as saying the snow was compacted and more than 2m thick.
As the victims were on a designated ski slope, they were unlikely to have detector equipment to help rescue workers locate them. — AFP