- from Google Translate
In 2011, 151 people were killed in the Swiss Alps and the Jura during sporting activities. The increase is 22% over the previous year. According to the Swiss Alpine Club (SAC), 2644 people found themselves in an emergency and had to be rescued.
The total number of deaths is 217 (173 in 2010) when taking into account illness (47 cases), mostly due to a cardiovascular problem, explained the CAS. When practicing mountain sports in the strictest sense, 151 people were killed in 135 accidents. These figures do not include fatal cases of hang gliding, paragliding, speed-flying, base-jumping or mountain biking.
More climbers dead
The increase in deaths was observed for mountaineering (33), hiking (64) and snowshoeing (7). The proportion of foreigners is 18% when trekking, while mountaineering, with 29 people, the proportion of foreigners is 88%. The number of deaths has decreased when cross-country skiing (21) [ski touring? Ed.] and for rock climbing (3).
In total, 2644 people where involved in an emergency and had to be rescued in 2011. This represents an increase of 9%. During the rescue, 996 persons were healthy or slightly injured. The largest number of emergency was recorded in cross-country, downhill and backcountry skiing.
Fatal fallsThe evolution of death is strongly influenced by weather conditions. The beautiful periods in spring and autumn have significantly extended the period of mountain hiking. The months of August, July and March were the deadliest.
The main cause of fatal accidents has been falling (110 victims). The greatest number of deaths occurred in falls while hiking (56). Avalanches have killed 27 people.
