Accidents on Swiss slopes cause costs totalling CHF600 million ($686 million) every year. According to the Swiss Council for Accident Prevention (BFU), an estimated 63,000 people are injured every year while skiing and snowboarding.
The number of injuries varies from year to year and depends on snow and weather conditions, among other things, according to the press release. The number of injuries has been falling since 2014, as fewer and fewer people are travelling on the Swiss slopes.
During the last winter season, 14,000 people had to be treated by rescue services after an accident. Most frequently, skiers were treated for knee injuries and snowboarders for wrist injuries.
According to the BFU, skiing and snowboarding are the sports with the third and fourth highest risk of serious injuries respectively. Every year, 6% of injuries are classified as serious.
The accident data was collected by the cable car companies and analysed by the BFU. Around one fifth of the accidents were recorded. They serve as a data source for estimating the total number of accidents in Swiss snow sports.
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