Avalanche
The cantonal police of Wallis/Valais in Switzerland has confirmed that among the deceased in the Zermatt avalanche from Monday, April 1, is a 15-year-old U.S. citizen. The avalanche occurred on Easter Monday shortly after 2 p.m. at the world-famous Matterhorn Ski Paradise ski area, which is situated between Zermatt, Switzerland, and Cervinia, Italy. Police confirmed that four people were found in the aftermath and that three of the people were deceased while one was injured.
The other two victims have been referred to only as an unidentified man and woman. The police states in their press release that they have no clues as to the deceased woman’s identity.
The injured skier has been identified as a 20-year-old Swiss man.
No further information as to the identity of the skiers or the background of the avalanche has been released by the police as of yet.
The avalanche broke near the Riffelalp on the Riffelberg. A Swedish freerider identified as Schubertan 1997 shared the approximate location on a Swedish website. According to this eyewitness, the slope was at more than 30° and had been receiving a lot of sunshine after the heavy snowfall of the previous days. In the 48 hours preceding the avalanche, Zermatt had seen 87 centimeters (34 inches) of snowfall, and avalanche risk was reported as being high, or Level 4 out of 5 by the Swiss Avalanche Center SLF. Warnings had been issued to avoid the off-piste areas in the resort. Accounts vary whether this was a protected animal zone (Wildschutzgebiet) to which access is prohibited and the four skiers would have had to duck the rope to access.
