Tragic Avalanche Claims Life of Irish Skier in Switzerland

A 53-year-old Irish man died overnight, Swiss police have said, following injuries sustained in one of several recent deadly avalanches in the Alps. Police in southwest Switzerland's Wallis canton said the avalanche took place on 13 January at an altitude of around 2,360 metres (8,628 feet) in an off-piste area of Six Noir, above the ski-resort village of Ovronnaz. Three ski tourists were coming down the east face when the avalanche occurred, sweeping one of the group away. The other two alerted the rescue services and located the missing man via avalanche transceivers, Wallis police said, adding that two rescue helicopters were dispatched. "The victim, freed from the snow and resuscitated at the scene, was airlifted to the hospital in Sion," the police statement said. "During the night of 19-20 January 2026, the victim died from his severe injuries. He was a 53-year-old Irish national." Avalanches have killed several people over the last 10 days in the Wallis region. An avalanche on 15 January at Pointe de Chemo killed two Swiss men, aged 42 and 41. An avalanche east of Mont Carre on 14 January killed a 42-year-old Frenchman who was skiing off-piste. Swiss snowboarder Ueli Kestenholz, 50, who won the bronze medal in the men's giant slalom at the Nagano 1998 Winter Olympics, died in an avalanche in the Lotschental area of Wallis on 11 January. Elsewhere in Switzerland, a German skier was killed in an avalanche on 16 January in the Graubunden region. Three avalanches meanwhile killed eight skiers in the Austrian Alps on Saturday.