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Swiss Air Force helicopter on a mission to Tête Blanche in 2022
Photo: Gabriel Monnet / AFP
Five of six missing ski tourers have been found dead in the Swiss Alps.
Rescue workers discovered their bodies on Sunday evening in the area of the Tête Blanche, which is over 3,700 meters high, said the Valais cantonal police.
»The sixth ski tourer has not yet been found.
The search for him is still ongoing,” it said.
The group had been on the ski touring route between Zermatt and Arolla since Saturday morning.
Since she did not arrive at her destination, a concerned relative raised the alarm in the afternoon.
Localization at 3500 meters altitude
At 5:19 p.m., a member of the group managed to reach emergency services, police said in an earlier statement.
This call led to his localization in the area of the Col de Tête Blanche, at an altitude of around 3,500 meters.
Stormy weather and the risk of avalanches made it difficult for rescue workers to work.
According to the police, initial rescue attempts had to be aborted.
The army air force is also in action.
According to the information, five of the ski tourers come from Valais and one from the canton of Friborg.
Five of them are said to come from one family.
The age of the six ski tourers was given as 21 to 58 years.
kub/dpa/AFP