The Eiger, with its iconic north face (pictured) rises up to 3,967 metres in the Swiss Alps.
Keystone-SDA
Two people died following an avalanche on the Eiger mountain on Saturday, canton Bern police said. Five others were injured and airlifted to hospital.
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“One man died on the spot; another, who had been resuscitated, died shortly afterwards in hospital,” the Bernese cantonal police said in a statement on Saturday.
A total of eight people were in the area when the landslide started. Seven were buried under the snow. One group of two and another of five had been on a high-mountain ski tour.
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Formal identification of the deceased was underway on Saturday evening.
Four injured men and one woman were also airlifted to various hospitals. One other man who was in the area was unharmed, but could only be airlifted away in the evening due to deteriorating weather conditions, according to police.
The incident led to a huge operation involving Swiss Alpine Rescue, mountain specialists, various departments of the Bernese cantonal police, two avalanche dogs, multiple helicopters and a canton Bern care team.
Translated from French by DeepL/dos
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