One US boy still missing in central Switzerland

A group of four tourists from the United States has been found one day after they set off to walk in Mount Pilatus in canton Lucerne. However, police told swissinfo that a fifth person, a 14 year-old boy, is still missing and they fear for his safety.

Obwalden policeman, Edi Wallimann, said the boy has a fifty per cent chance of survival after spending a night in the mountains overlooking Lake Lucerne in miserable weather conditions.

Wallimann said a 12-member search team from the Swiss Alpine Club was continuing its search for the boy, although the rainy and cloudy weather is hampering their efforts. The rescue team is scouring the walking paths on both the Obwalden and Lucerne sides of Mount Pilatus.

The cantonal police said four of the US tourists were found together by another person who was walking in the mountains. The missing included one 48 year-old man, a 68 and 48 year-old woman and a 12 year-old girl. Wallimann said they were all fine.

On Friday, the group of five took a cable lift up Mount Pilatus, a 2,121 meter peak. They intended to walk back down in the afternoon. A relative contacted police after they failed to return to their holiday residence in Engelberg late Friday evening.

by Samantha Tonkin