GENEVA: A series of devastating incidents in the southern Swiss Alps has resulted in the loss of six mountaineers’ lives in a matter of days, leaving authorities and communities in shock.
The tragedy began on Sunday when two climbers, a 37-year-old man and a 33-year-old woman from Zurich, set out to scale the towering Lagginhorn, which, according to regional police, towers above the Saas Fee ski resort in Wallis canton.
As they reached an altitude of approximately 3,960 meters (nearly 13,000 feet), an unforeseen occurrence caused the climbers to plummet approximately 200 meters into the void, tragically leading to their untimely deaths, read a statement issued by the police.
The sorrowful incidents continued on Monday, with two separate accidents claiming more lives. In the first incident, a 19-year-old man from Bern met a tragic fate while scaling down the Stockhorn mountain, part of the luxurious Zermatt resort ski area.
Rockslide on Swiss Side of Mont-Blanc Range
Meanwhile, on the same day, a rockslide on the Swiss side of the Mont-Blanc range claimed the lives of a 26-year-old Frenchman and a 36-year-old Dutch national during their ascent of the 3,540-meter Aiguille du Tour.
Wednesday brought further heartache as authorities reported a 22-year-old Dutch national, injured in one of the incidents, remained in critical condition. His life now hangs in the balance, adding to the already heavy toll of loss and grief.
In yet another incident on Sunday, a 47-year-old German-Ukrainian national’s pursuit of scaling Weisshorn, Switzerland’s second-highest peak standing at 4,506 meters (14,867 feet), ended in a fatal fall. Police said that he plunged 600 meters. Police have launched probes to unfold the reasons behind these deadly incidents.
