A 34-year-old died after the avalanche in Crans Montana in Switzerland. The seriously injured Frenchman died in the hospital, according to police. Three other people were on Tuesday slightly injured from the snow mass saved. Whether these victims were locals or tourists, the police could not say so far.
The avalanche had come down on a busy ski slope. Until the morning, no further missing persons were reported to the police. As a precautionary measure, one searched overnight for possible victims in the snow, said a police spokesman. The search was then stopped.
The mayor of the village, Nicolas Féraud, initially feared that as many as a dozen people might have been swept away by the snow. At times there were more than 240 helpers, some with search dogs.
The avalanche had buried a shared ski slope over a length of several hundred meters. The weather was fine, the avalanche warning service had estimated the risk of departure as low. Investigators examine whether skiers off the slopes have triggered the avalanche.
Ski slopes are normally protected against natural hazards. It is extremely rare for avalanches to hit groomed slopes. According to the Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF), in the past ten years a skier on a runway has been killed by an avalanche throughout Switzerland.
In open terrain, where touring skiers are off the slopes, more than 220 people were killed by avalanches in ten years, as aviation expert Kurt Winkler told the station SRF.