1.
Scene of mountain area
0.09

2.
Men digging in area
0.13

3.
Picture of shovel lifting dirt
0.17

4.
Men
0.24

5.
Moving trucks
0.27

6.
Men carrying man on stretcher
0.30

7.
Ambulance
0.35

8.
Scene of mountain area
0.51



Initials wm



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: A disastrous Alpine avalanche sent tons of rock, ice and snow roaring down onto the Mattmark Hydroelectric Project near Saas-Fee in Switzerland Monday night (30 August). At last count, five were known dead because their bodies had been recovered and 85 more workmen were missing and presumed dead.

The five bodies were discovered on Tuesday. All search efforts were stopped Wednesday (1 September) because a fog settled in over the area. The search chief said clear visibility was required because a second ice avalanche was feared. Meanwhile those truck by the avalanche lay entombed under tons of ice, and a rescue official said that any further search would be for corpses only.

Rescue workers said that there were signs of an early winter. If cold weather sets in, they said, it would be impossible to pry loose the ice covering the missing men.