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.

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.