The bodies of five skiers have been found near Switzerland’s luxury resort of Zermatt.
Emergency services were alerted a day earlier to some abandoned skis at an altitude of about 4,000m in the Rimpfischhorn mountain area, the prosecutors' office in Canton Valais said.
Rescue workers found the bodies near the Adlergletscher glacier, after air and ground searches in the area in southwest Switzerland near the border with northern Italy.
Local airline Air Zermatt said that three of the bodies were found on the debris of an avalanche a few hundred metres below where the skis were spotted. The other two were discovered higher up the mountain, it added.
Map of Zermatt:
The airline's aircraft are deployed for search missions and other emergencies.
The identities of the five have not been confirmed yet. An investigation is underway.
Weather conditions and avalanche activity in the region are being examined as part of the probe.
The Rimpfischhorn is a 4,199-metre (13,776-foot) mountain near the Italian border, and is popular with backcountry skiers.
