Five of the six people sought since Saturday on the Zermatt-Arolla route, in the Tête Blanche region, were found lifeless last night, the Valais Police announced early Monday morning, who later detailed the means deployed. The sixth missing person is still actively sought.
Early Sunday evening, a team made up of three rescuers and a police officer from the mountain group was dropped off near the Dent Blanche cabin. Around 9:20 p.m., she reached the Tête Blanche sector, where she discovered the bodies of five of the six people missing since the day before, reports the Valais Police.
The latest location of Tête Blanche’s victims.
The sixth person has still not been able to be located. The search to find her continues, police say. Until she is found, there is hope, even if we also have to be realistic, notes Commander Christian Varone. He points out in particular the extreme conditions, with very low temperatures in which this person has found himself since Saturday.
>> See an extract from the press conference: An extract from Christian Varone’s statements / News on video / 1 min. / Monday at 11:32
The hikers are five members of the same Valais family, as well as a woman from Fribourg, all aged between 21 and 58 years old, Christian Varone, commander of the Valais cantonal police, said at a press conference in Sion on Monday. He did not wish to specify the identity of the people, “the formal identification being in progress”. One of the missing was a member of the executive of Vex (VS), however, the president of this commune confirmed.
>> Read also: The village of Vex (VS) mourns the death of 5 members of the same family in Tête Blanche
The victims “did everything to try to protect themselves”, notes Christian Varone, without wishing to indicate in what way.
Interviewed in the daily 24 Heures, Anjan Truffer, head of Air Zermatt emergency services, specified that two victims were discovered on the snow and 3 others buried under the snow. “Apparently, they tried to dig a hole to protect themselves from the cold and the wind. But it snowed a lot and the hole was filled. All the victims froze to death,” specifies Anjan Truffer.
Winds were blowing at more than 100 km/h and the temperature dropped to -18 degrees and hikers had little protection. by their light clothing of the same type as that worn by the participants in the Patrouille des Glaciers.
Major resources deployed
During a press conference Monday morning, the commander of the Valais cantonal police Christian Varone, the general prosecutor of the canton of Valais Béatrice Pilloud and the director of the Valais cantonal emergency organization (OCVS) Fredy-Michel Roten delivered details of operations undertaken over the weekend.
To locate the six hikers, emergency services deployed eleven helicopters. In total more than 35 people are on deck. “Everything was put in place to save these six people,” said Christian Varone.
In detail, three helicopters from Air-Glaciers, three from Air Zermatt, three from Rega as well as two Super Puma from the army were mobilized. In addition to this air rescue, there are around ten specialized doctors, emergency columns on foot, and emergency psychologists.
>> See the images of the police searches: The searches continue on the Zermatt-Arolla route / News in video / 47 sec. / Monday at 5:58 p.m.
Extreme weather conditions
Despite the considerable resources mobilized to locate and repatriate the hikers, the extreme weather conditions in the area hampered rescue operations.
The storm raging in the south of the Alps initially prevented the helicopters from taking off. During the night from Saturday to Sunday, a rescue column made up of five experienced rescuers was also forced to give up more than 3,000 meters of altitude due to very bad weather conditions and the high danger of avalanches (see box).
A major transit point for the Patrouille des Glaciers, the Tête Blanche region is renowned for its difficulty in orientation when visibility conditions are poor.
Helicopters for searching for victims in the mountains. [Police cantonale valaisanne]
Rapid deterioration of weather conditions
Asked about the weather conditions in Zermatt on Saturday at the time of departure, Christian Varone indicated “that they were relatively good, before deteriorating quickly. It’s the mountain that decides”, he added. The group was traveling on the Patrouille des Glaciers course.
“Our canton has experienced many tragedies in the mountains,” underlines Christian Varone. In April 2000, two people training for the Patrouille des Glaciers lost their lives in the same sector, while in 2018, five hikers died in the Pigne d’Arolla sector, he recalled.
>> Read also: The search for the six people missing above Arolla is very difficult due to the weather
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