Eiger, Switzerland – On Thursday, September 21, 2017 a group of four mountaineers from Hong Kong were struck by falling rock, snow, and debris while climbing the south face of the Eiger (3967 m) in the Bernese Alps of Switzerland.
The Hong Kong mountaineers were on the Obers Ischmeer glacier when the avalanche occurred. The SLF.ch notes that the size 1 avalanche started near the Station Eismeer on the Eiger at 3300 meters on a SE aspect.
A 42-year-old was struck on the head and was killed in the incident. Another climber, 61, was struck in the leg. The other two climbers were uninjured.
According to 20min.ch and Blick.ch, the surviving members of the group report that a military jet flew by the mountain moments before the rock fall. It has been confirmed that a plane was in the area. This could have been the cause of the avalanche/rock fall, but it is still unclear.
Here is a short video of the group during a previous climb on the Breithorn from Facebook:
Read more about the 2017 avalanche fatality on the Eiger from the following sources:
Information in this post was found using Google Translate. There may be errors in this information. Please use the sources listed above to verify all facts.
