Italian boy dies in Swiss hiking accident

The accident occurred while the group of hikers were walking from the Pian Geirett area to the Scaletta mountain hut in southern Switzerland at an altitude of 2,200 metres. Keystone / Alessandro Della Bella

A 14-year-old Italian boy died on Sunday while hiking in the Blenio Valley mountain region in southern Switzerland. Two other teenagers who tried to save him were seriously injured.

The Ticino cantonal police saidExternal link the accident occurred shortly before midday on September 4 in the Ghirone area at around 2,200 metres. A 14-year-old boy from Varese, Italy, who was part of a group of hikers, fell 100 metres from a mountain path into a stream below. The reasons for the accident are unknown.

During his fall, he knocked another 14-year-old Italian boy from the group off the mountain who also ended up in the stream. A young Swiss boy, 13, from Mendrisiotto, canton Ticino, who tried to help the two young teenagers, also fell off the mountain.

The first boy was announced dead by the emergency services. The other two teenagers were taken to hospital by helicopter with serious injuries.

The two Italians were part of a group of about 20 young hikers accompanied by several adults, a Ticino police spokesperson told the Keystone-SDA News Agency. They were walking from the Pian Geirett area to the Scaletta mountain hut at an altitude of 2,200 metres. The trail is not particularly difficult, according to the police, but long sections of the path are exposed.

Mountain rescues are on the rise in Switzerland. In 2021, mountain rescuers were called out 3,680 times, according to the latest figures. This is 20% more than in 2019.

Last year, there were 1,525 cases of hikers in distress, significantly more than in 2019, but less than in 2020. Overall, hikers account for more than 40% of mountain rescues.

There has been a slight increase in the number of fatal accidents involving hikers in the mountains over the past ten years. The numbers are similar to those 20 years ago.