Beautiful Easter weather keeps rescue helicopters busy
Keystone-SDA
The rescue airlines Air-Glaciers, Air Zermatt and Rega were called out on an exceptionally large number of missions over the Easter weekend. The sunny weather attracted numerous recreational sports enthusiasts to the mountains. Skiing accidents accounted for the majority of the missions.
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The rescue teams of Air Zermatt and Air-Glaciers were called out on a total of 121 helicopter missions between Good Friday and Easter Monday, the two companies announced on Tuesday. Air Zermatt flew 47 rescue missions. Air-Glaciers completed 74 missions, 54 of which were in Valais and 20 on the Bernese side.
Air Zermatt was also called out to evacuate several exhausted mountaineers on the Dufourspitze and the Adlerhorn. On Easter Monday, the helpers also rescued mountaineers who had fallen into crevasses on the Adlerhorn and in the Riederalp area. The mountaineers were flown to hospital with minor injuries.
+ More rescues in Swiss mountains in 2025 but fewer deaths
Air-Glaciers was also called out to two avalanche missions on the Bernese side that resulted in fatalities. However, no people were injured in other avalanches in La Maya and Lourtier in Valais.
Rega with winch rescues
The crews of Swiss Air-Rescue (Rega) were also very busy over the long Easter weekend. Between Good Friday and Easter Monday, Rega completed more than 190 missions across the country, the company reported.
In addition to winter sports accidents and medical emergencies, several rescues by winch were required, particularly in rough terrain. Among others, two stuck mountaineers near Engelberg, canton Obwalden, an injured mountain runner near the Rochers de Naye in Vaud and a fallen hiker in the Areuse Gorge in canton Neuchâtel were rescued from difficult terrain and flown to hospital.
The rescue companies point out that the accident statistics depend heavily on the weather. The Easter weekend in 2025 was rainy, so there were fewer rescue missions.
Air-Glaciers and Air Zermatt speak of a “fraction of this year’s missions”. Rega carried out 60% more rescue flights this Easter weekend than a year ago.
Adapted from German by AI/ts
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