Helicopters search for skier in Switzerland as five others found dead

By Emma Farge

SION, Switzerland (Reuters) - 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."

More than 10 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.

The search party had to turn back late on Saturday within 500 metres 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.

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.

Zermatt is a popular mountain resort renowned for skiing and attracts tourists from around the world.

The road to Zermatt has been cut off after being partly buried by snow from an avalanche, police said.

Separately, another off-piste skier was killed in an avalanche this weekend in the same canton of Valais and police urged extreme caution given the ongoing risks.

(Reporting by Emma Farge; Editing by Lucy Marks)