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Bodies of three missing Dutch climbers found

Blatten
Keystone / Jean-christophe Bott

Three climbers that were missing since Friday were found dead on Sunday morning in the Swiss canton of Valais. 

They had been missing since Friday and were found below the Jegi glacier in the commune of Blatten.

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According to the preliminary findings of the investigation, it is possible that the three climbers – two men aged 32 and 40 years and a woman of 30 years – were surprised by an avalanche, said the Bernese cantonal police in a statement on Monday. They were Dutch nationals living in the canton of Bern and had planned to climb the Grosshorn mountain.

+ Mountain accidents in Switzerland: the figures

The trio were last seen on Thursday at the Schmadri hut in Stechelberg, in the popular Bernese outdoor hotspot of Lauterbrunnen. Since then, there was no contact with them. The Bernese cantonal police were alerted at around 4.50pm on Saturday, the police said. A large-scale search operation was then launched.

In addition to the Swiss Alpine Rescue team, mountain specialists and police officers carried out several search flights with Air-Glaciers and Rega helicopters, according to the cantonal police, who worked in collaboration with the Valais public prosecutor. Their lifeless bodies were found on Sunday morning.
 

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