Swiss police say derailment near Goppenstein injured five as large areas of western Alps remain under category 5 avalanche risk
Avalanches from heavy snowfall in the European Alps claimed more lives over the weekend, as a train was derailed by a snow slide in Switzerland on Monday and roads and villages around Mont Blanc were closed or placed under evacuation orders.
As large areas of the western Alps remained under a high risk of avalanche – following a week in which alerts reached category 5, the highest level – Swiss police said a train derailment caused by an avalanche injured five people near the town of Goppenstein.
The incident in Switzerland followed a series of deadly avalanches in the Alps in recent days involving skiers.
On Friday, two Britons were among three skiers killed in an avalanche while being accompanied by an instructor in Val d’Isère, in south-east France.
