Industry News
The missing person after the Easter Monday avalanche in Zermatt, Switzerland, has been identified by the Canadian Government on April 7 as Canadian Armed Forces member Captain Sean Thomas. Captain Thomas was on leave in Zermatt, Switzerland, from Operation IMPACT in the Middle East, and is presumed dead following the avalanche on Monday, April 1, that claimed the lives of in total four people and injured one. Captain Thomas was an Infantry Officer with the Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada in Cambridge who was deployed to Jordan in November 2023.
Thomas was not reported missing until April 2, a day after the avalanche. It appears that the other deceased Canadian was his girlfriend. The 25-year-old female has been identified by the La Ronge Regional Fire Department as Nicole ‘Nikki’ Nagy from Waterloo, Ontario. Nagy had been working as a paramedic in Perth County since 2022 and prior to that had been working as a seasonal firefighter with the La Ronge Regional Fire Department. In Perth County, flags are flying at half-mast at both the county courthouse and Perth paramedic services headquarters in Stratford.
In an interview with CTV News, Nikki Nagy’s father, George Nagy, was quoted as saying, “God took her, now she can snowboard with her boyfriend in eternity.” Her family is said to take comfort in the fact that she died doing what she loved, as well as the outpouring of support and messages he has received from Nicole’s friends. Her father described Nagy as a high-energy person, who crammed so much into such a short life. Nagy was always sporty and played rugby and football. “She loved the outdoors and everybody loved her. You hardly could find such a person with a big heart and a beautiful soul.”
- Related: 25-Year-Old Canadian Woman Among the Victims of Easter Monday Avalanche at Zermatt, Switzerland
The avalanche broke near the Riffelalp on the Riffelberg in Zermatt on Monday, April 1 shortly after 2 p.m. in an area of the Matterhorn Ski Paradise resort that has been identified by Zermatt Mountain Operations as a wildlife protection area—a no-gonzone. The area in question was roped off and in the area below the Riffelhaus even surrounded by a fence and clearly marked with signs as a wildlife sanctuary. As such, the area is not patrolled by Ski Patrol and is also not subject to avalanche control measures aside from those necessary to safeguard the safety of groomed runs in the resort. The avalanche is confirmed to not have hit any groomed runs. 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 skiers and boarders to stay on marked runs.
This takes the death toll from the Easter Monday avalanche to in total four persons. Aside from the Canadian couple, a 15-year-old American boy was killed as well as a 58-year-old male British-Swiss dual citizen.
