Bodies of 5 Skiers Found on Glacier

Swiss rescue teams found the bodies of five skiers on a glacier above the resort town of Zermatt, police said Sunday, in a search begun after climbers reported coming across several pairs of skis near the 13,000-foot Rimpfischhorn peak in the Valais Alps. The bodies were found in avalanche debris below the summit on the Adler Glacier, Valais police said in a statement, near the Swiss-Italian border. The local prosecutor's office has begun an investigation, the BBC reports.

The victims' identities and nationalities have not been released, per the AP. There are several ways to approach the advanced climb to Rimpfischhorn, about a five-hour trip from the luxury Zermatt resort; all necessitate an overnight stay in a high hut. On Friday, rescue service Air Zermatt plucked four alpinists from the Fiescherhörner after they became stranded in fog and high winds, per the BBC. The conditions caused the first rescue attempt to be halted, but a second after midnight succeeded, per the BBC. Heavy snowfall triggered avalanches a month ago in the area, per the Guardian. (More Alps stories.)