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American boy among three killed in avalanche at Switzerland tourist resort

It happened below the famed Matterhorn peak

Rich Booth
Wednesday 03 April 2024 11:21 BST
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(AP)

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An American teenager and two other people have been killed in an avalanche near the Swiss resort of Zermatt, police said Tuesday.

One person was flown to a hospital with serious injuries.

The avalanche happened at about 2pm on Monday in an off-piste area of the Riffelberg, above the resort and below the famed Matterhorn peak. Rescuers recovered three bodies and the injured skier, a 20-year-old Swiss man.

The victims were a 15-year-old American boy, as well as a man and a woman whose identification has not yet been concluded, police in Valais canton (state) said in a statement. They gave no further details, but said they currently have no information on the woman’s identity.

Prosecutors were investigating the incident.

Last month, five members of a Swiss family were found dead after going missing while cross-country skiing near the Matterhorn in difficult weather conditions. Authorities abandoned the search for a sixth missing person days later.

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