Air Zermatt rescues climbers from Matterhorn north face
Air Zermatt has flown several extraordinary missions in the past few days. On Monday morning two climbers in distress were rescued from the north face of the Matterhorn, and on Sunday Air Zermatt was called to a paragliding accident in Bitsch.
An emergency call was received late on Sunday evening from two climbers from Italy. They had wanted to climb the north face of the Matterhorn, but were unable to continue past an altitude of around 4,000 metres. Severe weather on the Matterhorn meant that Air Zermatt was forced to abort the rescue on Sunday evening and wait until the early hours of Monday. Following an uncomfortable night on the Matterhorn, an Air Zermatt rescue crew comprising a pilot, the rescue specialist and a paramedic managed to rescue the two climbers from the north face. Both were uninjured.
Around 4 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, a paraglider pilot from Germany crashed in Bitsch after his paraglider collapsed during the landing approach at an altitude of 10 to 15 metres. Once first aid had been provided by the Oberwallis ambulance service, Air Zermatt took over and flew the injured paraglider pilot to hospital in Sion.