In Vex, on Monday March 11, people attended a ceremony in tribute to hikers who died in the mountains. Image: KEYSTONE
Saturday March 9, five hikers died in Valais on the Col de Tête Blanche. Emergency services are looking for the sixth person, who has not yet been located. Hope remains present despite difficult weather conditions.
13.03.2024, 12:1814.03.2024, 08:35
The group left Saturday morning March 9 from Zermatt. The next day, around 9:00 p.m., rescuers reached the Tête Blanche sector, between Zermatt and Arolla (VS), where they found the bodies of five of the six hikers. A woman is still missing.
Who is the sixth hiker?
The missing person is a 28-year-old woman from Fribourg. This lawyer was the companion of one of the victims. His backpack and skis were found alongside the five bodies, at an altitude of more than 3,500 meters. There are currently no other traces of her.
Where is the research?
“Emergency services continue to comb the area to find her,” assures the Valais cantonal police. Monday, March 11, around 1 a.m., however, the search was interrupted due to worsening weather conditions, according to the same source. They have since resumed.
Currently, avalanche detectors, other location devices and probing poles are used, writes the RTS. The Nouvelliste precise:
“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 assistance, there are around ten specialized doctors, emergency columns on foot, and emergency psychologists.
What are the chances of finding her alive?
During a press conference in Sion, Valais police commander Christian Varone declared:
“Until the sixth victim has been found, there is hope, even if we also have to be realistic”
It recalled the extreme conditions and very low temperatures in which the woman has found herself since Saturday March 9.
Are we necessarily going to find her?
The bodies of people missing in the mountains are not always found. “The massif has already experienced many tragedies”reminds her RTS, which looks at the deaths that took place in the area. In 1949, three soldiers lost their lives in a crevasse. In 2018, seven climbers died in the night. In 2014, on the other hand, two Jura brothers disappeared in the mountains. They were never found.
“Their bodies are probably still trapped in the ice, up there somewhere on the high road”
rts
(ag)
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