The bodies of five missing skiers were found in the Swiss Alps on Sunday while rescuers continue to search for a sixth person.
According to the Swiss Valais canton police, the group of skiers, which included five members of the same family, had set off on a backcountry ski tour on Saturday. They left from the resort town of Zermatt, near the Matterhorn, and were headed to the village of Arolla, near the Italian border. While weather conditions were relatively good on Saturday, conditions rapidly deteriorated as a winter storm set in over the region. When the group failed to show up in Arolla on Saturday afternoon, the family member who was supposed to pick them up reported the group missing.
A member of the missing group was able to contact emergency searches shortly after 5 p.m. on Saturday, which helped officials pinpoint their location to Te?te Blanche Pass, which sits at 11,500 feet. A search and rescue operation was launched, but the winter weather conditions and avalanches hindered the search teams. Helicopters were unable to approach the area. A team of five experienced rescuers attempted to navigate the pass on foot but had to turn around at 10,000 feet, when the risk to their own lives became too great.
The six missing skiers were forced to spend the night exposed to winter weather conditions in the pass. It is not yet known if they carried any winter survival equipment with them.
Rescue operations were launched again on Sunday, and the bodies of five of the six missing skiers were found around 9:20 p.m. Search and rescue operations continue to look for the sixth skier. Identities have not been released, but the skiers were all Swiss nationals between the ages of 21 and 58.
Winter weather conditions can set in quickly, no matter where you are. If you choose to recreate in the winter, always keep an eye on the forecast, let people know where you're going, and carry a satellite communication device and enough emergency gear to stay warm and build yourself a snow shelter.
