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Two dead after glider crash in southern Switzerland

The site of the fatal glider crash in canton Valais.
The site of the fatal glider crash in canton Valais. Keystone-SDA

Two people died after their glider crashed in canton Valais on Friday afternoon. The police said the victims were Swiss nationals, aged 72 and 46, who had apparently taken off from canton Aargau in northern Switzerland.

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According to the Valais cantonal police on Saturday, the accident occurred below the Chistehorn peak near Niedergesteln in canton Valais.

An individual who saw the crash alerted the emergency service Rega shortly before 4pm. The local emergency services flew to the crash site in an Air Zermatt helicopter but discovered that the two occupants had died.

According to the police, the glider took off from an airfield in canton Aargau at around 12.30pm on Friday.

The Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board (Sust) has launched an investigation. The cause of the accident was initially unclear.

Translated from German by DeepL/sb

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