Avalanche at Swiss ski resort near Zermatt claims three lives

An American teenager and two other people were killed in an avalanche near the Swiss resort of Zermatt, police said on Tuesday. One person was flown to hospital with serious injuries.

The avalanche occurred at about 2pm on Monday in an off-piste area of the Riffelberg, above the resort and below the famed Matterhorn peak. Rescuers recovered three bodies and the injured skier, a 20-year-old Swiss man.

The victims were a 15-year-old American boy, as well as a man and a woman whose identities have not yet been confirmed, police in the canton of Valais said in a statement. Investigations into the incident are ongoing.

How I survived an avalanche

Lots of fresh snowfall and gale-force winds had caused a considerable risk of avalanches in the southern Alps of Switzerland, with major risk in parts of Graubünden and Valais on Easter Monday. “Very large and occasionally extremely large spontaneous avalanches are to be expected,” said the WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) in Davos in canton Graubünden on Monday.

What’s triggering avalanches?

So far this winter, 14 people have died in avalanches in the mountains of Switzerland. According to the SLF, a total of 194 people have been caught in avalanches in 146 accidents. Most of the victims were ski tourers.

Last month, five members of a Swiss family were found dead after going missing while cross-country skiing near the Matterhorn in difficult weather conditions. Authorities abandoned the search for a sixth missing person days later.