A Dutch alpinist died in a crash on the Silvrettahorn in the canton of Graubünden on Friday. The 69-year-old was accompanied by a 60-year-old Dutchman on the descent from the summit when he slipped while traversing a snow flank.
According to a statement from the Graubünden cantonal police on Saturday, the mountaineer then slid down the snowfield. He then fell 200 meters down a rock face. His mountain companion immediately notified the mountain rescuers.
However, the fallen alpinist suffered fatal injuries and had to be rescued with the help of a winch. The two alpinists had climbed from Austria to the summit of the 3243-metre-high Silvrettahorn on the Swiss-Austrian border in the morning. They set off on their descent after midday.
The cantonal police and the Graubünden public prosecutor's office have launched an investigation into the circumstances of the crash.
SDA