A tragic accident unfolded in the Swiss Alps. On Sunday, search parties recovered the bodies of five missing skiers. The search for a sixth person continues.
The group, including a family of five from Valais, departed from Zermatt, a famous ski resort, on Saturday. They were reported missing in the Tete Blanche area. Authorities reported the skiers' ages ranged from 21 to 58. While details about the dead are withheld, it was confirmed they were found in Tete Blanche on Sunday, Reuters reported.
Police said they were alerted by a family member who was meant to collect the group in the village of Arolla on Saturday afternoon and had become concerned when they failed to arrive.
CNN reported that search-and-rescue operations were launched on Saturday after the skiers went missing near the 3,706-meter-high (12,159 feet) Tete Blanche pass, en route to the village of Arolla.
"At 5:19 p.m., a member of the group managed to contact the emergency services. This call enabled him to be located in the Tete Blanche pass area, at an altitude of around 3,500 meters" (around 11,480 feet), police said.
"A storm in the southern Alps and the danger of avalanches prevented helicopters and rescue columns from approaching the area," police continued, adding that a team of five experienced rescuers attempted an overland approach from Zermatt overnight, but they had to give up at an altitude of over 3,000 meters (9,843 feet) due to "very poor weather conditions and the risks involved."
Zermatt is a popular mountain resort renowned for skiing and attracts tourists from around the world.
