Four rescued from avalanche in Crans Montana
Four rescued from avalanche in Crans Montana
Published : 20-Feb-2019 08:32
There was a large avalanche yesterday afternoon in Crans-Montana in Switzerland, leading to a search that went through the night for survivors.Over 240 people including resort workers, police, military and volunteers were involved in the rescue operation, as well as eight helicopters and a dozen search dogs. The resort is hosting a World Cup race this weekend, which meant that there were many extra staff available to assist.
The avalanche had started high on the mountain and is believed to have been caused spontaneously by warming snow, rather than triggered by skiers. The avalanche risk had been reduced from 'Level 3' to 'Level 2' earlier in the day.
The scale of the avalanche was so great that the snow fell for 840m and was 100m wide. It didn't stop until it hit the Kandahar ski slope below, burying an unknown number of skiers.
Late last night, four people had been rescued, one with serious injuries and three with minor injuries. It was believed there may have been more victims, but the search was called off on Wednesday morning
The public prosecutor has opened an investigation to determine the possible causes of the avalanche.
UPDATE - Wed 20 Feb, 1254 GMT
Tragically it has now been confirmed that the seriously injured victim has since died. More details on the fatality - a local ski patroller - have now been released by Crans Montana
https://www.facebook.com/cransmontana.resort/posts/2313181765584947
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