Five of the six hikers missing near Tête Blanche (VS) since Saturday were found dead on Sunday evening, Valais police announced. A woman from Friborg was part of the group. It is not known if she died.
The rescuers were dropped off on Sunday around 7:30 p.m. near the Dent-Blanche cabin. © Keystone The rescuers were dropped off on Sunday around 7:30 p.m. near the Dent-Blanche cabin. © Keystone
Published on 03/11/2024
The missing are five members of the same Valais family, as well as a Friborg national, all aged between 21 and 58 years old. They left Zermatt (VS) on Saturday towards Arolla (VS).
They were able to be located on Saturday shortly after 5:00 p.m. in the Tête Blanche sector, after one of them was able to contact emergency services. The alert had been given an hour earlier by a family member who had come to pick them up in Arolla.
A team of rescuers, left on Sunday around 7:30 p.m. near the Dent-Blanche cabin, arrived around 9:20 p.m. in the Tête Blanche sector, where they discovered the bodies of five of the six people missing since the day before, police said in a statement released Monday.
The weather conditions were very bad during the weekend. A foehn storm swept through the Swiss Alps on Saturday and Sunday, disrupting rescuers’ searches.