Four die in Swiss Alps after spending night outdoors
Police in Valais in southwestern Switzerland said seven helicopters were used to rescue 14 people in the Pigne d’Arolla region early on Monday.
Three of them died from hypothermia while the fourth is believed to have died in a fall.
They had been trying to reach the Vignettes hikers’ hut at 3,157 meters (10,357 feet) in the Alps.
“Fourteen skiers who were trapped by bad weather were forced to spend the night outside in the Pigne d’Arolla area” of the Swiss Alps, police in the canton of Valais said in a statement.
The victims are from France, Germany and Italy.
Valais police spokesman Markus Rieder said the climbers were caught off-guard by high winds and snow.
Two other skiers have also died after being reported missing on Sunday night, according to Swiss newspaper 20 Minuten.
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The search operation was made difficult due to stormy weather, and the two men, aged 21 and 22, were found on Monday morning.
They are also believed to have succumbed to the elements.
