The Valais cantonal police said the 42-year-old Italian man died after falling 600 metres down a couloir on the Grand-Combin de Valsorey peak in southern Switzerland, close to the Italian border.
Police cantonale valaisanne
An Italian climber died on Sunday after falling off the 4,184-metre Grand-Combin de Valsorey mountain in canton Valais in southern Switzerland.
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Scalatore italiano muore su una vetta svizzera di 4.000 metri
The Valais cantonal police said the 42-year-old Italian man died after falling 600 metres down a northwest-facing couloir on the Grand-Combin de Valsorey. The injured climber was transported to Sion hospital by helicopter but died on Sunday.
He was part of a group of three climbers who had set off at 5am from the Valsorey hut for the summit, which is part of the Grand Combin massif close to the Swiss-Italian border.
The police opened an investigation into the incident.
Overall, mountain rescues have been on the rise in recent years. A mountain rescue is classified as a mountain emergency, regardless of whether it is an accident or illness. In 2021, mountain rescuers were called out 3,680 times, according to the latest figures. This is 20% more than in 2019.
But figures for 2022External link from the Swiss Alpine Club published in March 2023 show that the number of fatal accidents in high mountain areas decreased between 2021 and 2022 from 131 to 109 deaths; 40% of these were non-Swiss climbers.
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