4 people die in Swiss avalanche

Four people died in an avalanche in Switzerland that buried them Saturday as they were skiing down a slope near the town of Seewis, police said.
A group of nine skiers was at an altitude of 2,200 metres on an off-piste tour to peak Vilan near the Austrian border, when masses of snow swept down the mountain.
According to dpa, three people were found dead in the snow. Rescuers flew four additional skiers with serious injuries to hospitals, but one of them died.
Swiss avalanche experts had declared a 'considerable' avalanche risk for most of the Swiss mountains, the third highest of the five-level European avalanche danger scale.
This assessment included the Vilan area, where fresh snow had fallen prior to the accident, police told dpa.
Police did not provide information about the identities of the victims.