Two mountaineers - a French and a Spaniard - were killed and 9 others injured by the fall of seracs (large blocks of ice) in the south-west of Switzerland on Friday May 27, the police said in a press release.
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Seventeen mountaineers were at an altitude of 3400 meters, in the “
Plateau du Déjeuner
” sector during the ascent of the Grand-Combin, when they were caught by the seracs.
“
Two people died at the scene of the accident.
They are a 40-year-old French national residing in France as well as a 65-year-old Spaniard residing in Spain
,” police said.
Nine mountaineers, two of whom were "
seriously injured
" were airlifted to two hospitals in Lausanne, the authorities' statement said.
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Other mountaineers were evacuated by helicopter from the scene of the accident.
In total, seven helicopters intervened as well as about forty rescuers.
The police reminded that it was necessary to be extra careful or even to give up the planned outings when the threshold of 0 degrees is around 4000 meters.
The Grand-Combin culminates at 4314 meters and is the second highest peak in French-speaking Switzerland.