Skiers missing as avalanche smashes into Swiss resort

AN avalanche buried skiers yesterday at a Swiss resort popular with Britons.

Four people were injured – one seriously – and up to eight others were feared missing after a blanket of snow hit Crans-Montana in the afternoon. Up to 8,000 skiers were on the slope over the course of the day. Scores of rescuers worked overnight to search for the missing.

Without warning, the piste was carpeted by an avalanche 900 yards long, 110 yards wide and six feet high. It is thought to have been triggered by recent warmer temperatures.

Despite the melting snow around the resort, the Swiss Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research said the danger for the area had been rated two out of a scale of five yesterday. The chances of survival after spending 15 minutes under an avalanche are no more than 50 per cent.

A police spokesman said: ‘Witnesses told us there could be more people under the snow, that is why we are pursuing the search.

Blackheath High School, in south-east London, tweeted that all its pupils on a ski trip in the area were safe.