OAN’s Abril Elfi
2:32 PM – Tuesday, April 2, 2024
A 15-year-old teenager from the U.S. and two others have died in a sudden Swiss Alps avalanche.
On Tuesday, police said that the avalanche came down near the Swiss resort of Zermatt, “killing three people and severely injuring another.”
Reports stated that the avalanche occurred at around 2 p.m. local time on Monday in an off-piste area of the Riffelberg, above the resort and below the famed Matterhorn peak.
Dispatched rescue teams were able to save a 20-year-old Swiss man. He was transported to a nearby hospital with serious injuries soon after his rescue.
Police also released a statement where they said that the victims were a 15-year-old American boy and a man and woman whose identities have not yet been released to the public. They also added that the four other individuals caught up in the avalanche had escaped before being fatally buried.
Authorities in the southern Swiss Alps have now issued a major avalanche risk warning due to heavy snowfall and extremely strong winds.
Popular ski destinations like the Grisons and Valais cantons are thought to have an especially high risk.
“Very large, and in some cases extremely large, spontaneous avalanches are to be expected,” the Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research, or SLF, said.
Stay informed! Receive breaking news blasts directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. https://www.oann.com/alerts