On Sunday, the bodies of five out of six skiers were discovered in the Swiss Alps, a day after they were reported missing during a ski tour from Zermatt, as reported by the BBC.
Following the group’s disappearance near the 3,706m high Tete Blanche mountain, a significant search and rescue operation was initiated on Saturday. Zermatt, renowned for the Matterhorn mountain, is situated near Arolla along the Swiss-Italian border.
While a sixth person is still being sought by local authorities, the five skiers were found at 21:20 local time, “without any signs of life.”
The Swiss Valais canton police had earlier disclosed that all skiers were Swiss nationals, ranging in age from 21 to 58 years old.
Despite efforts from teams on both sides of the route, severe weather conditions, including very strong winds, heavy snow, high avalanche danger, and zero visibility, have impeded the operation.
Anjan Truffer, the head of Zermatt’s air rescue service, emphasized that flying is currently not an option due to adverse weather conditions. He suggested that the group might have succumbed to the severe weather rather than being affected by an avalanche, as they went missing on a low-risk route.
Truffer also mentioned that the last signal from the group, recorded overnight, was non-verbal but assisted rescue services in determining their approximate location.
The Zermatt to Arolla route, part of the popular 120km “Haute Route” from Zermatt to Chamonix, is designed for experienced skiers and can span several days.
