GENEVA, Feb. 20 (Xinhua) -- One of the people rescued from Tuesday's avalanche in the Crans Montana area of the Alps died overnight after sustaining severe injuries, police in Switzerland's Valais canton said on Wednesday.
A day before, police said that at least four people were injured, including one seriously, as they continued searching during the night. Several were swept off ski slopes and believed to buried by the avalanche.
Police said that the man who died overnight in the Sion hospital was a 34-year-old French national who was part of the local ski patrol.
The Chinese Embassy in Switzerland said Wednesday that currently no Chinese nationals have been found dead or injured in the avalanche.
On Tuesday, an avalanche swept down the mountain at an altitude of 2,750 meters, just below the Plaine-Morte Glacier, and hit the well-known Kandahar ski slope at around 2:20 pm.
The avalanche material was 840 meters long and 100 meters wide.
The Swiss national broadcaster, RTS, reported on Wednesday the known toll was one person dead and three injured.
Police said the search was called off due to no disappearances being reported, despite some authorities earlier suspecting more people were buried under the snow. However, the search could resume if the situation requires it.
The Institute for Snow and Avalanche Studies (SLF) said the avalanche danger for the region was at level 2 out of 5 on Tuesday.
Local media said that higher than average temperatures in recent days there could have triggered the avalanche.
