Panoramic view of Rimpfischhorn and Monte Rosa in the Pennine Alps | Credits: JohannesS/Shutterstock
Five unidentified skiers died in an area around the Rimpfischhorn after climbers alerted authorities to abandoned skis near the summit on Saturday.
A helicopter was sent to survey the area where the skis were seen. The air rescue mission team found the bodies in the Rimpfischhorn, a 4,199-metre (13,776-foot) mountain that lies east of Zermatt, near the Italian border, and is popular with backcountry skiers.
“The bodies of five people were quickly found,” Swiss police said, adding that authorities had opened an investigation and were working on identifying the victims. The company operating the rescue mission said a group of mountaineers had seen four pairs of abandoned skis at an altitude of about 4,000 metres as they made their way up the Rimpfischhorn from the Britannia hut, the Guardian reported.
Three were found on an avalanche cone
Air Zermatt said its rescuers found three bodies on an avalanche cone, a mass of snow and other debris deposited by a snow slip. Two other people were discovered about 200 metres above in a small area of snow, the firm added. A cause of death has not yet been made public.
Valais cantonal police said the victims were located on the Adler glacier after aerial and ground searches.
Before taking on the rescue mission, Air Zermatt had carried out another challenging rescue mission nearby. It said heavy wind and fog had led to two mountaineers becoming stranded on the 4,000-metre Fiescherhörner. The “extremely difficult” conditions led to a first rescue mission being aborted. However, six hours later, the company carried out another attempt and succeeded in rescuing the two mountaineers.
The discovery came four weeks after heavy snowfall triggered avalanches and road closures in the popular luxurious skiing destination.
Zermatt, which is famed for its views of “the world’s most photogenic mountain,” the Matterhorn, was temporarily inaccessible due to the deluge of snow last month.
