The bodies of five missing skiers were found near the Tête Blanche mountain in canton Valais in southern Switzerland on Sunday evening. The local authorities are still searching for a sixth person, Valais cantonal police announced early on Monday morning.
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Cinco dos seis esquiadores desaparecidos foram encontrados mortos na Suíça
Three rescue workers and a police officer were sent to the Dent-Blanche mountain hut at around 7:30pm on Sunday evening, the Valais cantonal police reported. At around 9:20pm, they reached the Tête Blanche area, where they quickly discovered five of the six missing skiers “without any signs of life”.
The group had set off on a ski touring route between Zermatt and Arolla, the cantonal police reported on Sunday. The Tête Blanche lies halfway between the two resorts. The police said the missing group consisted of five people from canton Valais and one person from canton Fribourg, all aged between 21 and 58.
Weather hinders search
Valais police said teams on both sides of the route were alerted and various techniques were used to locate the ski tourers. A member of the group had managed to contact the rescue teams at 5.19 pm on Saturday, allowing them to locate the ski tourers in the Tête Blanche area.
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But the storm on the southern side of the Alps and the risk of avalanches prevented helicopters and rescue teams from approaching the area on Saturday, it was reported on Sunday.
On Sunday, special units of the cantonal police, including members of the mountain group and the technical and telecommunications team, were deployed alongside the rescue teams of the Valais Cantonal Rescue Organization (KWRO) and the army.
The Valais cantonal police will hold a press conference on Monday morning.
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