- A skier was buried by an avalanche in Saas-Grund VS on Saturday. He died, according to the Valais cantonal police.
- According to police reports, the skier was on a piste traverse in the Kreuzboden-Hohsaas ski area.
- Several people were also buried by avalanches in Arosa-Lenzerheide and Davos – for two of them any help came too late.
The avalanche in Saas-Grund occurred around 11:40 a.m. above a mountain restaurant. Rescue workers were able to locate the skier under a blanket of around one meter of snow. Despite resuscitation, he died at the scene of the accident. The identity of the victim is being clarified. The public prosecutor’s office has opened an investigation.
As Bruno Ruppen, Saas Fee mountain railway director, explained to SRF, the railway operators blew up avalanches on Saturday morning before the slopes opened. Even at the scene of the accident. Nevertheless, a “slide” of around 20 meters occurred.
Facilities in the ski area remain closed today
The Saas-Fee ski area reacted to the deteriorating weather conditions on Sunday morning. Ski lifts and slopes remain closed on Sunday due to the risk of avalanches and storms, as it said on the ski area’s website. All winter hiking trails and snowshoe trails were also closed.
The avalanche in Saas-Grund was not the only one that fell in the region on Saturday. After another avalanche in the Hohtälli area near Zermatt, a buried person was rescued from the masses of snow, Air Zermatt announced. The person who was not injured in the avalanche was outside the marked slopes.
The SLF warned of a major avalanche danger in the Goms and Simplon areas. This corresponds to the second highest danger level. According to the avalanche warning service, at this level there is a likelihood of spontaneous and often very large avalanches. There is a considerable risk of avalanches in the rest of Valais.
Seventh person to die in avalanche this year
This winter, seven people have already died in avalanches in Switzerland – three this week alone. On Saturday, a 54-year-old skier was found dead in an avalanche cone in the Arosa-Lenzerheide ski area. The man who was reported missing on Tuesday was located by an avalanche dog above Parpan (GR), as the Graubünden cantonal police reported.
The scene of the accident is outside the marked and secured ski slopes, as the police write. The exact circumstances of the avalanche accident are now being clarified.
On Saturday, two ski tourers were each buried in an avalanche above Davos Monstein. According to the cantonal police, a 49-year-old man could only be rescued dead. The second was seriously injured.