American boy among three killed in avalanche at Switzerland tourist resort

Breaking news (Aug 2023)

An American teenager and two other people have been killed in an avalanche near the Swiss resort of Zermatt, police said Tuesday.

One person was flown to a hospital with serious injuries.

The avalanche happened at about 2pm on Monday in an off-piste area of the Riffelberg, above the resort and below the famed Matterhorn peak. Rescuers recovered three bodies and the injured skier, a 20-year-old Swiss man.

The victims were a 15-year-old American boy, as well as a man and a woman whose identification has not yet been concluded, police in Valais canton (state) said in a statement. They gave no further details, but said they currently have no information on the woman’s identity.

Prosecutors were investigating the incident.

Last month, five members of a Swiss family were found dead after going missing while cross-country skiing near the Matterhorn in difficult weather conditions. Authorities abandoned the search for a sixth missing person days later.

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