DANGEROUS ADVENTURE

Death Toll in Swiss Alps Climbs to 14 After Spate of Bad Weather

The hikers perished in seven separate incidents over the last two days.

At least six people are dead after poor weather conditions forced hikers to “spend a night outdoors” in the Swiss Alps, bringing the total number of deaths in the mountains to 14 in the past few days, according to the Swiss Broadcasting Corporation and la Repubblica. The five Italians and one Bulgarian who died are among 14 people who were “on their way to the Vignettes mountain hut on Sunday.” Three others—a Swiss man, a French woman, and Italian woman—are reportedly in serious condition. The hikers, who appeared to be in two different groups, were “blocked by a sudden thunderstorm” and caught off-guard by “high winds, snows and cold[.]” Eight others have died in the past two days in the Alps in separate incidents. The bodies of two Swiss men were found Monday morning while hiking, while a French man died Monday evening after being rescued. A Russian hiker also passed away, and two Italian men slipped while hiking up a mountain. Two French men were also killed in two separate avalanches.