GENEVA: A landslide derailed a passenger train in the Swiss mountains yesterday sending one carriage plunging into a ravine but it appeared that miraculously there had been no deaths.
Photos in Swiss media showed another carriage hanging precariously over the edge of the ravine in the heavily forested region of mountainous eastern Switzerland.
Terrified passengers described crowding into the rear of one of the carriages in a bid to prevent it from tipping over the edge.
“The train made an emergency stop in the middle of nowhere,” passenger Stevens Bockor was quoted as saying by news website 20Minuten.
“We all rushed to the back of the carriage to put all of our weight there, so that it didn’t tip into the abyss,” he said.
The eight-carriage regional train was travelling between the upscale mountain resort of St. Moritz and the regional capital of Chur when it derailed around 12.45pm (1045 GMT).
Local police described the accident as “serious” but there were no reports of deaths.
“At least three carriages were derailed. Several people were injured. The rescue and evacuation operation is in progress,” police said in a statement
Simon Rageth, spokesman of regional rail company Rhaetische Bahn, said part of the train was “derailed by a landslide” but was unable to immediately provide more details.
CHAMONIX, France: Six French climbers have died after a terrifying 250-metre fall from Mont Blanc, officials said yesterday, one of the worst accidents in a decade on Europe’s highest mountain.
“We are certain that the climbers unfortunately died on the spot after a fall of around 250 metres,” rescue police spokesman Frederic Labrunye told reporters.
The group of four men and one woman, aged between 27 and 45 and accompanied by a experienced guide, set out on Tuesday for the “Aiguille d’Argentiere” peak on the Mont Blanc massif, which stands at 3,902 metres.
The weather deteriorated rapidly and the accident likely happened some time around midday, authorities said.
Frantic rescue efforts began after the group failed to return to the refuge as planned.
Agencies
