GENEVA, March 17 (Xinhua) -- The body of a second skier has been found following the big avalanche that swept four people away on Friday afternoon, local police said on Saturday.
After a first victim was found overnight on Friday, a second body was discovered on Saturday afternoon, both under six meters of snow. They have been identified as French from Alsace, aged between 20 and 25.
The avalanche occurred on Friday afternoon in the Vallon d'Arbi region in canton Valais, near the popular Verbiers ski resort in the French-speaking part of southwest Switzerland.
Rescue operations were suspended mid-afternoon on Saturday because of bad weather. Earlier on Saturday local police said after so many hours buried under snow, it was unlikely that anyone would be found alive.
The avalanche covered a distance of about 400 meters, starting at an altitude of about 2,200 meters. One person managed to avoid being swept away and two managed to extract themselves.
Switzerland has experienced unusually high levels of snow this winter, resulting in raised avalanche warnings to the maximum alert in several areas.
Earlier this year, thousands of tourists were cut off in the popular resort of Zermatt in southern Switzerland's Valais canton, as the risk of avalanches twice forced the authorities to close rail and road links. The resorts of Saas-Fee and Andermatt, both in the Swiss Alps, were also snowed in for a period. In late February, at least three skiers and mountaineers have lost their lives in separate avalanches in the Swiss Alps.
This winter has already seen a record number of dynamite-triggered avalanches in the Swiss Alps, because of the huge amount of snowfall. For safety reasons, Swiss ski resort and security authorities have set off thousands of avalanches this winter, blowing up 120 metric tons of explosives so far. In a normal winter, some 80 to 120 tonnes would be sufficient for the whole season.
