An avalanche has killed one skier and injured three others at Crans Montana in the Swiss Alps this week. The mammoth slide happened on a popular piste with numerous skiers and boarders on the run on Tuesday, European time.
The avalanche debris was up to 2 metres deep in some places. The region has been experiencing warmer temperatures recently, though avalanche danger was set at 2 out of 5.
Over 240 rescuers worked on the debris to determine how many people were buried and rescue the injured and an extensive search was halted today as no one else has been reported missing. It is not known if the avalanche is skier or weather triggered at this stage.
The slide was 840 metres long and 100 metres wide and tragically took the life of a 34 year old French ski patroller who was helping someone on the piste in an unrelated incident at the time.