The helicopter accident occurred on Tuesday morning near the top of the mountain Petit Combin, located at an altitude of 3,668 meters in the Valais region, writes the Swiss newspaper Blick.
In addition to the pilot, there were five others on board – among them a mountain guide.
The helicopter was supposed to transport four people to the top of the mountain for so-called “heliskiing”, which means that the skiers are transported to the top of the mountain by helicopter. Petit Combin will be a popular destination for this.
Family identified: – Freeze to death
Found dead
According to Blick, the helicopter somehow crashed on the north side of the mountain, and must have slid down the mountainside.
The police state that the helicopter has somehow slipped from the landing area, writes ABC News.
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Seven helicopters took part in the subsequent search. Two people were found and taken to hospital after a short time, while a third person was found and taken to hospital somewhat later. The three are described as injured.
The three other people on board the helicopter were found dead, ABC writes.
Emergency calls leaked: New details
Under investigation
An investigation has been launched to try to uncover what went wrong.
The helicopter, which was of type B3, belonged to the company Air-Glaciers.
– Our thoughts are with the families and relatives of the victims, and with the injured and their loved ones, the company says in a statement to Blick.
AVALANCHE: On Monday there was an avalanche in a ski area below the famous Swiss mountain Matterhorn. Three people lost their lives. The picture is from 2012. Archive photo: Jean-Christophe Bott / Keystone / AP / NTB
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More tragedies
The fatal accident occurs the day after an avalanche claimed three lives in the Zermatt region of Switzerland.
According to Sky News, an American 15-year-old is among the dead. He was found with a man and a woman, who have not yet been identified, according to the police.
A 20-year-old Swiss man was flown to hospital with serious injuries after the avalanche, which happened around 2pm on Monday afternoon.
Three died after an avalanche
The avalanche happened near the Riffelberg slopes – an area with so-called “off-piste slopes” – i.e. outside the groomed slopes. The area lies below the famous Matterhorn mountain in the Swiss Alps.
Also in March, the area was hit by a tragedy, when five people belonging to the same family died in a storm not far from the Matterhorn.
Local police have stated that the family froze to death.
