Arolla is part of the challenging annual Patrouille des Glacier race
Keystone/Mammut. Christian Gisi
At least three skiers and mountaineers have lost their lives in separate avalanches in the Swiss Alps over the weekend.
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Four others were injured, according to police.
An off-piste skier was in a group of four that were swept away by an avalanche on Saturday near a steep gorge above the village of Arolla in the Valais region.
Rescue services managed to reach them and they were transported to hospital. However, a 40-year old woman died on Saturday night in the hospital. The other three hikers are recovering but are not in danger of losing their lives.
An avalanche swept away two mountaineers on Saturday near the mountain resort of Gstaad in the Bernese Oberland. One of them was able to pull himself out of the snow on his own and alert emergency services. Seriously injured, the second was transported by helicopter to the hospital, where he died during the night.
Another person died in the same region on Sunday. Police said a 55-year-old woman was ski-touring near Château d’Oex, when a windslab swept her and her companion away.
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Record number of avalanche blasts in Switzerland
This content was published on
This winter has already seen a record number of dynamite-triggered avalanches in the Swiss Alps. The reason is the huge amount of snowfall.
This content was published on
How are Swiss mountain trails kept safe in an era of landslides like the one that struck the town of Bondo last week, leaving eight hikers missing?
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If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.