Five of six cross-country skiers who went missing in the Swiss Alps over the weekend have been found dead, police said Monday, with the search still on for the last person.
The group of skiers, aged 21 to 58 and including five members of the same family, left the luxury ski resort town of Zermatt Saturday with the goal of reaching the tiny village of Arolla later that day, but never arrived.
As a storm set in, the skiers went missing in the vicinity of the Tete-Blanche mountain, at an altitude of over 3,500 metres (11,480 feet) above sea level.
The weather conditions were “catastrophic”, with freezing temperatures and a significant avalanche risk, Christian Varone, head of Wallis cantonal police told reporters.