Avalanche
An avalanche on Easter Monday at the world-famous Matterhorn Ski Paradise ski area, which is situated between Zermatt, Switzerland, and Cervinia, Italy, killed at least three people and injured one. According to preliminary police reports, an avalanche was triggered shortly after 2 p.m. on Monday, April 1, at the Riffelberg on the Zermatt side of the cross-border ski resort in an off-piste area of the resort. Several people were swept away and the search is ongoing as exact numbers were unknown and had to be ascertained from eyewitness reports. The search for victims was paused at 9 p.m. but is anticipated to continue in the morning on Tuesday, April 2.
In a video shared on Twitter (X), the avalanche can be seen from an on-mountain restaurant on the Riffelalp. The changes in air pressure of the initial avalanche triggered another avalanche in the adjacent terrain. According to the comments in the video, people could see four skiers in the initial terrain but it is unclear how many people, if any, were in the area adjacent. Both avalanches cover a wide area that will make the search and rescue very lengthy.
Avalanche Zermatt
— Johanns (Alpen)weer (@Alpenweerman) April 1, 2024
Police have confirmed that three people are deceased and one is injured. This takes the number of avalanche deaths in Switzerland to 17 for the season, which is right on average according to data by the Swiss Avalanche Center SLF.
In the last 48 hours, Zermatt had seen 87 centimeters (34 inches) of snowfall according to OpenSnow.
An official police report has not been issued by the cantonal police due to Easter Monday being a public holiday in Switzerland, so this remains an evolving situation. We will update our SnowBrains readers as we receive more information.
