The bodies of five skiers have been found in the mountains near Switzerland’s luxury resort of Zermatt, police said.
A helicopter was sent to survey the area around the Rimpfischhorn after climbers alerted authorities to abandoned skis near the summit on Saturday.
“The bodies of five people were quickly found,” Swiss police said, adding that authorities had opened an investigation and were working on identifying the victims.
The Rimpfischhorn is a 4,199-metre (13,776-foot) mountain that lies east of Zermatt, near the Italian border, and is popular with backcountry skiers.
The aviation firm Air Zermatt said it flew a rescue mission to the site on Saturday afternoon where it found the bodies of the victims.