West News Wire: According to police, two climbers were killed and nine others were hurt by falling ice blocks in the Alps in southern Switzerland on Friday.
The Valais canton (state) police were notified of the incident in the Grand-Combin massif just after 6 a.m. Seven rescue helicopters were called in.
Seventeen climbers were there in various groups when the ice chunks broke off at a height of 3,400 metres (11,150 feet). Two persons died at the scene: a 40-year-old French woman and a 65-year-old Spanish man.
According to police, nine more persons were transported to hospitals in Sion and Lausanne, with two of them critically injured. Other climbers were helicoptered out.
