British skier, 18, dies in Swiss avalanche, with police still hunting for the other person buried in snow

22 March 2023, 16:25 | Updated: 22 March 2023, 17:40

The 18-year-old skier died in an avalanche
The 18-year-old skier died in an avalanche. Picture: Alamy

By Kit Heren

A British teenager has died after being swept away in an avalanche in Switzerland, local police have said.

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Officers are still looking for a second person who is missing after the avalanche, which swept down the Gstelliwang slope in Meiringen, in the canton of Bern, on Tuesday evening.

An 18-year-old British man, who was living in Switzerland, was found dead after the avalanche.

A report was made to Bern police at 4.25pm on Tuesday that "an avalanche had fallen near the Gstelliwang and two ski tourers had been buried", local media reported.

The skiers were thought to have been on a tour when two went down a slope, and were hit by an avalanche.

Scene of ski lift and skiing on snow capped mountain with deep blue sky in Meiringen
Scene of ski lift and skiing on snow capped mountain with deep blue sky in Meiringen. Picture: Alamy

The Gstelliwang is ski slope on the Wellhorn mountain in the Bernese Alps, which is about 2,117 metres high.

Swiss media reported that rescue workers set to work immediately and found the 18-year-old man dead. His name has not been made public.

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Rescue teams paused their hunt for the second person, whose age and sex is unknown, at about 7.30pm.

They started again at dawn on Wednesday morning.