Helicopters spent two hours airlifting some of those stranded to nearby villages, while others remained stuck in the resort for a second day running after snow blocked road and rail links. In the Pyrenees, a skier was killed and another injured after avalanches in Aragnouet on the slopes of Pique Poque mountain, according to local police. In the French Alps, a slight break in the weather meant rescuers could begin looking for a British skier who went missing on Sunday in the resort of Tignes, police said. “The persons in charge are working with high pressure,” a statement said on Zermatt’s official website as tourists and locals bedded in for another night in the resort. But an avalanche risk at its highest level means the stranded tourists will not be able to take advantage of the abundant snow for the time being. “It is not possible to do downhill or cross country (skiing), but that’s ok. It’s a bit romantic,” resort spokesperson Janine Imesch told AFP, adding that “there is no panic.” The heavy snowfall also caused power outages in some other areas of the southern Swiss canton of Valais, and a number of other villages were also cut off, with the Simplon region of Valais hit by two metres (6.6 feet) of snow over 24 hours, the ATS news agency reported. Mud and rockslides, as well as flooding, closed a number of roads across Valais. At lower altitudes, heavy rains forced the evacuation of around 20 people from Eyholz… [Read full story]
VietNamNet Bridge – Vietnamese youth find there is more to Switzerland than snow-covered Alps, luxurious watches and good chocolate. The country also offers the best hospitality education in the world. Hong Minh reports. As more and more Vietnamese students choose to study abroad every year, their horizons are widening to include unlikely destinations, far away from mainstream places like the US and the UK. When 18-year-old Le Thi An Khanh left her family in HCM City and took a long flight to Montreux in Switzerland three years ago, she had no idea what to expect. There were not many peers…... [read more]
According to the Department ofAgriculture and Rural Development of Sa Pa, more than 100 hectares ofchayote and another 100 hectares of flowers were buried under snow. Thick ice also blocked about 10 kilometres of Highway 4D linking LaoCai and Lai Chau provinces. Efforts have been made by local authoritiesto clear the roads. Freezing temperatures have also forced more than 8,500 pre-school and primary school students to cease their schooling. According to the Lai Chau Department of Education and Training,thousands of students in the hard-hit districts of Sin Ho, Phong Tho andTam Duong have had to stay at home. Students in…... [read more]
"No one is in critical condition," said a spokeswoman for the regional police in the Swiss canton of Uri.Around 100 people were onboard when the accident happened shortly before midday, including three school classes counting 65 primary and secondary school students, the Swiss daily Blick reported.Eighteen of those injured were children, it said. The ATS news agency said that of the 15 other people injured, 13 were Swiss and two were Dutch.The accident happened shortly as a train run by the Matterhorn-Gotthard rail company, made up of a locomotive and five carriages, attempted a manoeuvre at the station in Andermatt,…... [read more]
The landslide, which struck on Wednesday, sent mud, rocks and dirt flooding down the Piz Cengalo mountain into the outskirts of the village of Bondo, near the Italian border.About 100 people were evacuated, some airlifted out by helicopters.Police confirmed that eight hikers, from Germany, Austria and Switzerland had been in the region of Val Bondasca where the landslide occurred and were missing.There had fears about another six people who had been unaccounted for, but Graubunden police spokeswoman Chiarella Piana later told AFP they had been found safe on the Italian side of the border.No children were believed to be among…... [read more]
Heavy snow and freezing temperatures were causing major disruptions on air, rail and road networks in northern Europe.Air travel was upended. Gatwick Airport, one of Britain's busiest, was closed for a second straight day, canceling another 600 flights as conditions continued to deteriorate. Edinburgh Airport and London's City Airport were also closed until at least late evening, according to Eurocontrol, the air traffic agency.Significant delays also hit airports at London Heathrow, Charles de Gaulle in Paris, Amsterdam's Schiphol, Berlin's Tegel and Duesseldorf. In Geneva, the airport reopened only after removing 2,000 tractor-trailers full of snow from the runways.Half of the…... [read more]
