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Mountains claim half of sporting deaths

Around half of Switzerland’s deadly sport accidents occur in the mountains, the Swiss Council for Accident Prevention said on Tuesday.

Mountaineering, rock climbing and hiking caused 82 deaths between 2004 and 2008, while winter sports including skiing, free-riding, ski-touring, snowboarding and snowshoeing killed 38 people.

The majority of fatal mountain accidents happened between May and September. The most dangerous mountain sports seem to be hiking and mountaineering.

Out of the 75 victims of these sports, 49 were Swiss and 26 foreign.

In Switzerland about 300,000 people a year injure themselves doing a sport.

swissinfo.ch and agencies

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