Helicopters search for skier in Switzerland as five others found dead

The cross-country skiers, five of them members of the same family from the Valais canton, went missing around Tete Blanche mountain.

Sion: Helicopters were combing an area near the Matterhorn mountain in Switzerland on Monday to find a missing skier after five other members of the party were found dead after "catastrophic" conditions.

The cross-country skiers, five of them members of the same family from the Valais canton, went missing around Tête Blanche mountain on Saturday on the Zermatt-Arolla path.

Authorities have not given the cause of death for the five found late on Sunday but described "catastrophic" conditions with avalanches, snow storms and extreme temperatures.

"Our priority is to find that sixth person," Christian Varone, cantonal police chief, told journalists at a press conference on Monday.

"As long as there is hope we will do all we can, but we have to be realistic about the conditions that person has lived through over the past 48 hours."

The incident is one of the most deadly in the Swiss Alps in recent years.

Eleven helicopters were part of a search and rescue operation over the weekend as well as a five-person team that left Zermatt on foot to reach the area near the Matterhorn, which straddles the border between Switzerland and Italy, after one of the skiers raised the alarm.

But the search party had to turn back late on Saturday within 500 metres (yards) of the missing group's last reported altitude due to storms and heavy snowfall.

"Everything was done in terms of personnel and means and all the bodies worked 24 hours a day to try to achieve the impossible. But we are at the mercy of nature," said Varone.

Swiss President Viola Amherd expressed her condolences to the families and thanks to rescue teams.

Police said the group of skiers included people between the ages of 21 and 58 but did not say which had died. A formal investigation is under way.

Authorities urged extreme caution given ongoing risks of avalanches which also killed another off-piste skier in a separate incident in the same canton at the weekend.

The road to Zermatt, a popular mountain resort for skiers from around the world, is also shut after being partially buried by an avalanche, police said