Lacking skiers tried to dig ‘snow caves’ earlier than they died in Swiss Alps, says rescuer

A gaggle of skiers who went lacking within the Swiss Alps tried to dig “snow caves” to save lots of themselves from the freezing temperatures, a lead rescuer has informed Sky News.

Anjan Truffer, the top of mountain rescue at Air Zermatt AG, was on web site when the our bodies of 5 cross-country skiers had been discovered on Sunday within the space of the Tete Blanche mountain after they had been reported lacking the day earlier than.

The seek for a sixth particular person continues to be ongoing.

Mr Truffer mentioned his workforce was delayed attending to the accident web site close to the Matterhorn mountain – one of many best-known within the Alps – because of snowstorms, and when he arrived, his French counterparts had found two our bodies.

“We started to look for the others with avalanche transceivers and probes and we immediately discovered two more bodies,” he mentioned.

In helicopter footage launched by police in Valais canton, ski tracks could be seen on the facet of a mountain in addition to small piles of snow which Mr Truffer mentioned are believed to be “snow caves” that the skiers tried to dig for defense.

“They were snowed in,” he mentioned, including: “They did try to make a snow cave to protect themselves from the wind.”

He mentioned one of many issues the group had was an absence of correct gear, with solely “small and light” shovels.

“With this equipment you can’t manage to keep up if the snow is coming down really quickly,” he mentioned.

Skiers had been ‘dressed fairly evenly’

The six skiers – 5 of whom are members of the identical household – set off on Saturday on a ski tour from the Alpine city of Zermatt, Switzerland, with the intention of reaching the city of Arolla.

They are believed to have been aged between 21 and 58, however none have been formally recognized by authorities.

Mr Truffer mentioned the skiers had been additionally “dressed quite lightly” and it’s believed they had been coaching for a race earlier than stepping into issue.

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With the search ongoing for the sixth lacking particular person, Mr Truffer mentioned everybody concerned within the mission must be “realistic” concerning the final result.

“We could continue to search for another week without any luck,” he mentioned, including that it is vitally troublesome to know what one of the best strategies to make use of had been going ahead.

“Travelling on foot in these conditions on a glacier, you won’t get very far,” Mr Truffer mentioned.

“Maybe this person fell into a crevice. Maybe they got knocked over by the wind and got snowed in. It is very hard to say.

“It is probably the most horrendous factor to occur to a household when you do not discover a physique on the finish. It is troublesome.”