Switzerland Today
Greetings from Zurich!
It’s another sad day in Switzerland with an avalanche claiming three more lives and a helicopter crashing in the Alps in canton Valais.
But first, we bring you the news round-up of the day.
In the news: yodelling seeks culture stamp of approval, easing the backlog of asylum seekers and a successful winter tourism season.
- Switzerland has nominated yodelling to be added to the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage activities.
- Heavy snowfall in November helped the tourism industry to chalk up a successful winter.
- A people’s initiative has been launched by Alliance Europe, calling for Swiss relations with the EU to be anchored in the constitution.
- Justice Minister Beat Jans insists he will bring down the lengthening waiting list of asylum applicants.
More tragedy in the Alps
It hardly seems any time ago that we were reporting on the deaths of five members of a ski touring party who were caught out by bad weather near to the Matterhorn.
Three more fatalities were recorded on Monday during an avalanche near to the Zermatt ski resort.
Again, the weather played a cruel hand in the latest tragedy. The last few days has seen stormy conditions in the southern Alps, heightening the risk of avalanches.
The WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research says 194 people have been caught in avalanches this winter, resulting in 14 deaths.
That’s lower than the 21 avalanche deaths last winter but it still shows that the mountains can be dangerous at times.
Switzerland also saw its third helicopter crash of the year when a machine went down today on the north face of the Petit Combin in Valais.
At the time of writing, rescue teams were on site assessing the circumstances of the accident.
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