British and Irish skiers are killed in separate avalanches on the same day in Switzerland
- A British man, 38, is one of seven people killed in a series of avalanches
- The resident of Swiss resort Verbier had been skiing off piste with nine others
- Investigation has begun into the incident that took place at 10.20am yesterday
- An Irish man, 29, was also killed by an avalanche on Monday near Nendaz
A British man and an Irish man are among seven people that have been killed in a series of separate avalanches in the Swiss Alps over the last four days.
The 38-year-old British man, who has not been named, was with nine other people that were engulfed by snow while skiing off piste.
An investigation has been launched into the tragedy which took place at the Swiss resort of Verbier at 10.20am on Monday and police are appealing for witnesses.
The Irish man, 29, who had been in a group of three, was also killed in an avalanche on Monday in the nearby area of Col des Gentianes at Siviez near Nendaz.
The deaths are two of seven to occur across multiple avalanches, with other incidents occurring at Emmetten, Engelberg, Klosters, Veytaux and the Bernese Oberland.
A British man is one of seven people who have been killed in the Swiss Alps following a series of avalanches (stock image)
The Irish man, 29, who had been in a group of three, was also killed in an avalanche on Monday in the nearby area of Col des Gentianes at Siviez near Nendaz
A police spokesman said: ‘The avalanche occurred outside the piste between the Verbier ski area and ‘Les Attelas’.
‘At around 10.20am, a skier was driving down a corridor below the ‘Attelas’ area.
‘A snow drift came loose and carried the skier as well as another person who had been further down at the time.’
Police also confirmed that the area where the avalanche occurred is popular among skiers looking to go off piste.
The British man was a resident of Verbier and his family have been informed.
Police confirmed the avalanche took place in an area between the village and Les Attelas and that both helicopters and dog teams were deployed to locate the nine people caught in the incident.
All ten of the people caught by the avalanche were wearing GPS locators and emergency services were able to dig out all of the group members.
An investigation has been launched into the tragedy which took place at the Swiss resort of Verbier at 10.20am on Monday (stock image)
However, the British man was declared dead at the scene.
Another person that was found by emergency services was airlifted to hospital in Sion.
On top of the group of 10 that were engulfed in the avalanche, an additional eight people were caught up in the snow, but escaped unharmed.
The resort of Verbier hit headlines last month after it emerged more than 200 Brits had fled during the night to avoid strict Covid quarantine rules.
Elsewhere a skier was killed after being caught in an avalanche in the Bernese Oberland, near the resort of Gstaad.
The skier had been in a group of three but had been left covered over by the snow. They were rescued but later died in hospital.
Meanwhile in the Rochers de Naye region above the town of Veytaux four people aged between 19 and 21 were skiing off piste when they were caught up in an avalanche.
Two of the group attempted to dig the other group members out from the snow but were only able to find one other person.
A search dog helped locate the fourth group member who later died in hospital.
Many ski resorts across Europe have been forced to close because of the coronavirus pandemic, however, those in Switzerland have been allowed to remain open.
According to Swiss Mountain Rescue there have been 77 avalanches this year involving 104 people.