Pat least three people died and another was injured after an avalanche hit the ski resort Zermatt, Switzerland, this Monday. Local authorities warned the region of the possibility of more similar situations occurring due to strong winds and snowfall.
Several videos are circulating on the social network Most of the victims will be skiers who practiced cross-country, one of the sport’s disciplines.
According to a publication by the Valais police on the same social network, one of the fatal victims will be a woman, although, So far, there are no records or “any information that allows her to be identified”.
Weather conditions forced local authorities to suspend rescue operations overnight, but it is possible that more fatalities will be found in the coming days.
The latest update to the Avalanche Bulletin from Snow and Avalanche Research Institute (SLF), published this morning, shows that the southern region of the country is at level 3 – “considerable” – on a scale that goes from 1 to 5, for the occurrence of possible avalanches. On Monday, “very large and, in some cases, extremely large spontaneous avalanches” were expected, as the Institute warned.
According to the same source, this winter there have already been 14 fatalities in avalanches in Switzerland, a relatively lower number compared to the same period last year, in which 17 people died.
Article by Mariana Jerónimo, edited by Mafalda Ganhão
Tags: Switzerland dead avalanche ski resort
