rescue teams fighting a desperate battle against the clock, after several people were buried alive after a large avalanche in Switzerland on Tuesday afternoon.
More taken by avalanches in Switzerland
Several helicopters and a large number of rescuers are at the site to find people who are buried in the snømassene in the popular hafjell alpine centre Plaine-Morte, which is located in Crans-Montana in the swiss alps, writes the Süddeutsche Zeitung.
– A huge amount of snow
the Avalanche have been at 14.15, and the police in Valais got the message about the incident eight minutes later.
– There was a huge amount of snow. It ran 300 metres down the hill, and is around two metres high, ” says an employee at the ski resort of the swiss Le Nouvelliste.
It is currently unclear how many people were taken by the avalanche. Mayor Nicolas Féraud says to the newspaper Le Temps that the 10-12 people have been buried, but underlines that this figure is not confirmed.
“We are shocked, and hope for a positive outcome for these people,” says Féraud.
the Military put into the search
Units are also called in to help with the rescue work, writes the swiss newspaper Blick.
We have at the request of the civilian authorities made 84 soldiers available, ” says militærtalsmann Daniel Traveled to Blick.
It is unusual that the avalanche goes over the prepared ski slopes in Switzerland. Most people who lose their lives in avalanches, run off-piste, writes NTB citing local media.
Several øyevitner informs according to Le Nouvelliste that four people are taken out of the snømassene. The same newspaper writes that the search is a challenge, because skituristene in the hafjell alpine centre was not equipped with skreddetektorer.
Avalanche Crans Montana pic.twitter.com/Yt1CcejU4H
— Laure Lugon Zugravu (@LaureLugon) February 19, 2019
