The number of deaths last year in the Swiss mountains fells significantly, with the Swiss Alpine Club saying prevention measures were behind the lower figures.

However, there was an increase in the number of people who had to be rescued as a result of bad weather conditions.

The organisation said on Wednesday that 104 people had died on Swiss mountains, a 15 per cent decline on the previous year (123). It commented that the decline was partly due to a successful information campaign that included advice on appropriate equipment.

The figures show that 72 people died from falls, 15 in avalanches and seven from falling down crevasses in glaciers.

The number of people who had to be rescued from the mountains climbed by five per cent compared with the previous year to 2,277.

There was a sharp increase in the number of operations carried out to rescue people on ski tours (43 per cent) and also a significant rise in cases where mountain bikers had to be helped.

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