Russian skier dies in major avalanche in Switzerland
A 58-year-old Russian skier died on Wednesday after being swept away by a large avalanche while skiing off piste at Nendaz in southern Switzerland.
The skier was caught by a 300-400-metre-wide avalanche in the Tortin region at Nendaz, in canton Valais. The police saidExternal link it occurred around noon.
A major rescue operation was immediately launched involving eight helicopters, dog handlers and police. The dead man was pulled out from under the packed snow at around 5.30pm.
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On Monday a Dutch skier died in another avalanche at Nendaz while skiing off piste in the col des Gentianes region.
The Valais cantonal police urged people to be extremely careful due to the “dangerous snow cover”.
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Much of the Alps has seen heavy snow over the past week. The Swiss Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research SLF on Thursday reported a danger level of three on the scale of one to five for half of the country.
Since 1936, about 2,000 people have died in avalanches in Switzerland. On average, 24 people die in avalanches every year. Over the past 20 years, more than 90% of the fatalities occurred off-piste.
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