Tuesday at dawn, a rope of three mountaineers, including two Belgians, fell as they progressed in the mountains above Zinal, in the canton of Valais in Switzerland. The two Belgians, accompanied by a French mountaineer, lost their lives, the Swiss authorities announced on Tuesday evening.
Around 4:50 a.m., five mountaineers left the Arpitettaz hut, located at an altitude of 2,786m, where they had spent the night, the Valais cantonal police said at the end of the day on Tuesday. They split the group into two ropes, one of three and one of two. At one point, on the Crête de Milon, the rope of three, which preceded the other, fell, shortly before the Tête de Milon.
The fall occurred some 3,400 meters above sea level. Witnesses to the event, the two climbers who made up the other rope immediately alerted the Arpitettaz hut as well as the emergency services. An Air Zermatt helicopter and an Air-Glaciers machine quickly arrived on site. The emergency services might only note the deaths of the unfortunates and proceeded to evacuate the survivors. The deceased are two Belgian men aged 31, domiciled in Belgium, as well as a 28-year-old Frenchwoman domiciled in France. The groups, well equipped, were not supervised by guides. The Public Prosecutor opened an investigation to determine the circumstances of the event.
