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VALAIS

Driver ‘wanted to play DVD’ just before crash

The driver of a bus that crashed in Switzerland, killing 22 schoolchildren and six adults, had wanted to play a DVD just before the crash, Swiss and Belgian papers reported on Thursday.

Published: 15 March 2012 16:28 CET

The website of Dutch-language Belgian daily Het Laatste Nieuws said that “just before the accident, the driver wanted to put a DVD” in the player.

The newspaper, without directly identifying the sources, said “this is what injured children told their parents and medics” in Swiss hospitals.

The daily reported from Switzerland that a teacher with the schoolchildren had taken a DVD to the driver shortly before Tuesday night’s crash in an alpine tunnel.

The paper said that a “moment of distraction” could have led to “the driver losing control.”

A Swiss police official, Renato Kalbermatten, told the newspaper this was speculation, saying there was no confirmation available via the crash tunnel’s closed-circuit cameras.

Swiss daily Aargauer Zeitung reported the same claims.

Swiss officials said the body of the driver was expected to remain in the country after the rest of the dead are repatriated to Belgium and the Netherlands.

Officials said “health analyses have to be carried out” to check if he was suffering from an illness that could have caused the accident.

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AVALANCHE

Weather warning: Part of Swiss Alps placed on high avalanche alert

Due to the heavy snowfall in recent days and more expected until the weekend, an avalanche warning is issued for Switzerland’s southern canton of Valais.

Published: 29 January 2021 10:06 CET
Weather warning: Part of Swiss Alps placed on high avalanche alert
Avalanche warnings should be taken very seriously. Photo by AFP

Valais authorities said the current avalanche risk level is between 4 and 5, meaning ‘high’ to ‘extreme’.

The population is urged to stay at home. When out, they should obey the signs and especially stay away from the avalanche corridors, officials warned.
 

Significant amounts of snow have fallen in the area in recent days, dumping 1 metre of snow above the altitude of 2,000 metres in the upper part of the canton. Between 30 and 40 centimetres are still expected. 

The highest risk of avalanches is in the Goms valley, the Zermatt valley, as well as the entire right bank of the Rhône. 

Some particularly threatened areas could even be evacuated, authorities said.

People planning to go skiing in Valais over the next few days should check snow conditions and avalanche warnings in place, especially as many roads, mainly in Upper Valais, are cut off, and a number of villages in the Goms Valley, Lötschental and the Zermatt region are no longer accessible by road or train. 

The Avalanche Bulletin is a good source of information not just for Valais, but for all of Switzerland’s mountain regions.

READ MORE: Is the pandemic to blame for Switzerland's spate of avalanche deaths? 

Avalanches have been particularly deadly in Switzerland this winter, having claimed 14 lives so far — well above the average yearly figure of eight people.

Avalanches have caused casualties in the mountains of Valais, Vaud, Graubünden, Obwalden and Schwyz. 

With many people concerned about the potential for contracting coronavirus on the slopes, the idea of skiing off piste has become more attractive. 

But this practice can trigger massive avalanches, so it is crucial to stay away from unsecured slopes.

READ MORE: Large crowds on Swiss ski slopes spark concern over coronavirus spread 

 

 
 

 

 

 
 

 

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