Swiss climber among three dead in Ben Nevis avalanche

Three climbers who died following an avalanche on the UK’s highest mountain were part of a Swiss climbing group, it is understood.

A fourth climber, a 30-year-old Swiss national, is in hospital with serious injuries after the avalanche “wiped out” the climbing party he was part of.

Swiss media reported that the group were members of the Club Alpin Suisse de Sion (Swiss Alpine Club, Sion).

Speaking from hospital, Mathieu Biselx told Swiss newspaper Le Nouvelliste: “It’s terrible, they’re not here anymore. They won’t see their families again.”

The group were caught by the river of snow and ice in a gully on Ben Nevis as Storm Gareth blew in with strong winds on Tuesday morning, triggering a huge search and recovery operation in “brutal conditions”, a rescuer said.

Mr Biselx, father of a little girl, said the group arrived in Scotland on Sunday evening and the climb on Tuesday was their first excursion on the mountain.

He told Le Nouvelliste: “We weren’t very high up and suddenly we heard a noise. We looked round and two seconds later we were carried away by heavy, compact snow.

“When I regained consciousness only my head and an arm were sticking out of the snow.”

Mr Biselx, president of the Sion Swiss Alpine Club, has serious injuries to both legs, while his back, one shoulder and arm are also affected.

He described his companions as “wonderful” people who were also fathers.

One of the climbers died “pretty instantaneously”, while another could not be saved despite receiving CPR for half an hour, Donald Paterson, deputy team leader of Lochaber Mountain Rescue Team (MRT), said.

A third climber died while being taken down the mountain, while the fourth was flown to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.

Switzerland’s Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) said: “The FDFA confirms the death of a Swiss national during an avalanche in Scotland.

“Another Swiss national was injured. The Swiss representation in Great Britain is in contact with local authorities.

“The FDFA, in Central Office, is in contact with the victims’ relatives.”

Mr Paterson told the Daily Telegraph: “We did all we possibly could – we had every available person we could get hold of. There were four stretcher parties.

“We carried the bodies all the way down. It is a terrible tragedy. They just got wiped out by the avalanche.

“It was brutal conditions.”

Lochaber MRT said it received a call out from the Scottish Avalanche Information Service, which recorded a “large” avalanche at No 5 Gully at 11.45am.

The team, along with Glencoe MRT and around 29 volunteer mountain rescuers who happened to be training in the area, raced to the scene.

Fort William Inspector Isla Campbell said it had been a “challenging operation” and thanked those involved.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said news of the fatalities was “absolutely tragic”, while Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch MSP Kate Forbes said it was “heartbreaking”.

Ben Nevis, near Fort William in the western Highlands, is a popular destination for experienced climbers, attracting 125,000 visitors each year.

Tuesday’s incident follows two recent fatal accidents on the mountain, which at 1,345m is the UK’s highest.

On New Year’s Day, a 21-year-old German woman, who was a student at Bristol University, died after she fell from a ridge she had been climbing with three other people.

She had been hiking on what is known as the “ledge route” when she fell around 500ft.

In December, Patrick Boothroyd, 21, from West Yorkshire, died after falling in the Tower Gully area.