Three lives lost in avalanches this weekend in Switzerland
Express newspaper
05/04/2026 15:47
Avalanches in Switzerland claimed three lives over the Easter weekend. A climber, a snowboarder and a skier lost their lives.
A 41-year-old man died in an avalanche in Sangernboden in the canton of Bern on Friday. He was descending towards the Gantrischhütte when a layer of snow broke off on the northeast side of Bürgle, then was “buried” by the avalanche.
Emergency services were called immediately and only managed to pull the dead man out. Specialists from the Swiss Alpine Rescue Service, various services from the Bern cantonal police and rescue helicopters were sent to the scene, writes swissinfo. The Bern cantonal police have launched an investigation into the incident.
Also in the canton of Bern, a 35-year-old Swiss man died in an avalanche while skiing off-piste. The avalanche broke off from the Schwarzbirg mountain in Isenfluh while two people were free skiing. Others nearby intervened to provide first aid. Although they managed to find the skier buried under the snow and free him, the man could not survive, albinfo.ch reports.
A climber died in Gross Mythen in central Switzerland after being swept off a cliff by an avalanche on Good Friday. His companion managed to hold on to a tree and survived the fall in the Swiss canton of Schwyz.