Bernese Alps climber dies from fall in crevasse

The incident occurred on Sunday when the victim was descending with four other colleagues from the Bächlital mountain hut, police said in a news release.

For reasons not immediately known, the man slipped and fell into the bottom of a crevasse covered by a bridge of snow, according to the release.

The four other people were uninjured.

Rescue workers from Rega and Air Glaciers responded to the scene, along with cantonal police officers and specialists from Alpine Rescue Switzerland.

The man, whose identity and age have not been released, was dead by the time his body was retrieved.

The cantonal police force has launched an investigation into the incident.

At an altitude of 2,328 metres, the Bächlital hut is a popular destination for hikers, rock climbers and mountaineering skiers in the Bernese Alps, east of Interlaken.

It is located in the municipality of Guttannen.