Dutch climber killed by falling rocks on Swiss mountain

A 36-year-old man from the Netherlands died in a rockfall while climbing a mountain on the border of Switzerland and France on Monday, the police of the Swiss canton of Valais reported on Tuesday. A Dutch woman was injured. The falling rocks also hit another group of mountaineers, leading to the death of a 26-year-old man from France.

Trient : Deux morts aux Aiguilles du Tour

Le lundi 31 juillet 2023, deux cordées ont été piégées par la chute d’une importante masse rocheuse. Deux alpinistes ont trouvé la mort et un troisième a été blessé.https://t.co/YGrk8UOUA3 pic.twitter.com/XK19RITaUl

— Police Valais (@PoliceValais) August 1, 2023

The victims were two men, one 36-year-old from the Netherlands and a 26-year-old from France. The injured climber is a 22-year-old woman from the Netherlands, according to the cantonal police of Valais. The two rope teams were climbing the Aiguilles du Tour, a mountain in the Mont Blanc massif, located on the border between Switzerland and France.

“For unknown reasons, a large rock mass detached from the mountain. The cascade of rocks first hit a rope team consisting of two climbers, injuring one and fatally wounding the other, before striking a second climbing party a few meters below, where a second climber lost his life,” the local police stated.

The Public Prosecutor Office of the canton of Valais, in collaboration with the cantonal police, launched an investigation.