Severe weather Evacuation flights offered for tourists stranded in the Saas Valley
Hundreds of tourists stranded in the Saas Valley VS after Thursday's landslide can be evacuated. Special flights with helicopters are planned for Friday afternoon. The cantonal road will not be open again until the beginning of next week at the earliest.
06.09.2024, 13:54
06.09.2024, 16:23
SDA
Around 2,200 people, mainly Swiss tourists, are currently trapped in the valley, which was cut off from the outside world after the storms. Simon Bumann, spokesman for the regional crisis unit, confirmed a report by blick.ch at the request of the Keystone-SDA news agency.
The evacuation flights, which must be approved by the Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA), will be carried out on Friday between 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. using Air Zermatt helicopters. "There are many senior citizens among the stranded tourists, not all of whom are necessarily in a hurry to leave," said Bumann. This will reduce the number of necessary evacuations accordingly.
Costs 140 francs
The helicopters should take off from Saas-Fee and drop the tourists off in Stalden, just a few minutes' flight away. From there, those affected can continue their journey by train, bus or on their own. Passengers will have to pay 140 francs per evacuation flight, reported the newspaper "Walliser Bote". Pre-registration is not necessary.
In view of the extent of the rainfall - up to 100 liters of rain per square meter in 24 hours - the damage in the valley was limited. No buildings were destroyed. The authorities had taken preventive measures around the streams, mainly based on the findings from the last storms at the end of June.
Cantonal road closed until next week
The cantonal road into the Saas Valley should be reopened at the beginning of next week at the earliest, as the crisis management team announced in the afternoon. Initially, those responsible had assumed that the road would reopen on Sunday. On Friday, the timetable was still dependent on approvals so that the construction companies concerned could carry out the necessary work.
The road between Saas-Grund and Saas-Almagell was reopened earlier.
