A British woman has died after falling into a Swiss glacier during a trek to the Strahlhorn mountain in Switzerland.
The 58-year-old walked straight into a crevasse along the Allalin Glacier located in the Pennine Alps near the Allalinhorn in the canton of Valais at around 4.30am on Thursday.
The glacier is six kilometres long and the largest glacier supplying the Saaser Vispa river which lies along the Swiss Alps, 2970 metres above sea level.
At 3am on Thursday, the Alpinist set off from the Britannia Hut, a popular resting spot for British climbers, for her journey to the Strahlhorn mountain along with another climber.
They were 90 minutes into their journey when the tragic accident happened.
The woman walked onto a thin covering of ice and snow covering a crevasse, causing her to fall into the glacier.
Even though the second climber was tied by the same rope, only the British woman fell into the abyss below.
She was pronounced dead when her body was recovered.
Swiss prosecutors are now investigating the circumstances surrounding her death.
Britannia Hut, where the pair had stayed together, is located south of Saas-Almagell in the canton of Valais at a height of 3,030 metres above sea level, and is at the foot of the Allalinhorn mountain near the Allalin Glacier.
The hut is a popular starting point for many climbers heading to the ascents of Strahlhorn, Rimpfischhorn and Allalinhorn peaks.
It first opened in 1912, the Vice President of the Association of British Members of the Swiss Alpine Club (ABMSAC) handed the lodge's keys to the Swiss Alpine Club.
