Brit, 18, is swept away and killed by an avalanche while on a ski tour in Switzerland
- Avalanche struck on Gstelliwang in Meiringen, Bern, at 4.25pm yesterday
- Body of Brit was found and another person from same tour group is still missing
- Do you know the identity of the British teenager? Contact miriam.kuepper@mailonline.co.uk
A British teenager was yesterday swept to his death by an avalanche while on a ski tour in Switzerland.
Authorities are currently searching for a second person who was also caught in the disaster on Tuesday in Meiringen, in the canton of Bern.
The age and gender of the missing person are unknown.
The 18-year-old who died in the avalanche was originally from England but had been living in Bern.
The avalanche struck at around 4.25pm. Mountain rescue teams and a helicopter were deployed to help survivors.
A British teenager was yesterday swept to his death by an avalanche while on a ski tour in Switzerland. Authorities are currently searching for a second person who was also caught in the disaster on Tuesday in Meiringen, in the canton of Bern (pictured: a helicopter looking for the other person at the Gstelliwang)
The fatal avalanche occurred at the Gstelliwang ski slope on the Wellhorn mountain in the Bernese Alps
The fatal avalanche occurred at the Gstelliwang ski slope on the Wellhorn mountain in the Bernese Alps.
A group of people had been on a ski tour together when two of them drove down the Gstelliwang as an avalanche broke off and buried them both underneath, according to the cantonal police in Bern.
The emergency services could only recover one of the buried man, the 18-year-old Brit, dead.
The search for the second person had to be interrupted around 7.30pm local time last night and was resumed this morning at light.
Swiss Alpine Rescue Rega crews, Swiss Alpine Rescue, several Rega, Air-Glaciers and Swiss Helicopter helicopters, mountain specialists and other employees of the Bern canton police and the Canton of Bern Care Team are currently searching for the second individual.
On March 12, there were already several avalanches in the canton of Bern, according to Swiss newspaper 20 Minuten. Seven people were buried overall and one man died in hospital after he was recovered.
One of the three avalanches came down in Meiringen and buried three people who were on a ski tour. All three skiers were recovered and survived.
Cantonal police warned at the time there was a high risk of avalanches in the mountains and appealed to skiers to consult weather reports on the snow- and avalanche risk situation before hitting the slopes.
In January, two British skiers were pulled from the snow alive after they were buried by an avalanche in the Spanish Pyrenees for nearly an hour.
In January, two British skiers were pulled from the snow alive after they were buried by an avalanche in the Spanish Pyrenees for nearly an hour
The pair found themselves trapped under the snow after the incident at around 10.30am on January 18.
Spanish officials said the tourists were able to get help after calling the emergency services on their phones while stuck.
Mountain rescuers and two helicopters were called out to find them, and they were later taken to hospital with what are thought to be non-life threatening injuries.
According to reports in Spanish media, the incident took place in the popular ski resort of La Vinyeta in Baqueira in the region of Vall d’Aran in the heart of the Pyrenees in Lleida, Catalonia.
Officials in charge of the slopes said the pair spent almost an hour under the snow and were rescued 90 minutes later.