Five bodies found after six skiers go missing near Matterhorn

Rescuers have found five bodies after six skiers went missing in difficult weather conditions in the Swiss Alps.

Police in the Valais canton have said the bodies have been found in the area of the Tête Blanche mountain where the cross-country skiers went missing on Saturday.

Five of them were found dead by a team of three rescue workers and a police officer at 9:20pm local time (8:20pm UK time) on Sunday.

Police said the sixth person is still missing, adding: “The search to find him is ongoing.”

The six cross-country skiers – five of whom are members of the same family – had set off on a ski tour from the Alpine town of Zermatt, Switzerland on Saturday.

It has not been confirmed whether those found dead were members of the same family.

Police said the six people, aged between 21 and 58, went on the Zermatt-Arolla path near the Matterhorn mountain that straddles the Switzerland-Italy border.

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The authorities added that a storm “raging in the south of the Alps and the risk of avalanches has prevented helicopters and rescuers from approaching the area”.

The six skiers are from from Switzerland’s Valais canton.

Zermatt is a popular resort renowned for skiing while Matterhorn is one of the best-known mountains in the Alps, standing at 4,478m tall.