A regional train derailed in southern Switzerland on Monday, injuring five people, as avalanche danger in the area rose to its second-highest level, police said.
The accident occurred near the town of Goppenstein at an altitude of 1,216 metres (4,000 feet) amid heavy snowfall, according to Agence France-Presse.
Police said preliminary findings suggest an avalanche may have crossed the tracks shortly before the train passed.
The public prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation into the incident.
“Five people were injured. One of them was taken to hospital,” police said.
The derailment comes after a series of fatal avalanches across the Alps in recent days involving skiers.
On Friday, three skiers were killed when they were swept away by an avalanche in the upscale French resort of Val d’Isère.
Cédric Bonnevie, who oversees the resort’s ski slopes, said one of the victims was French while the other two were foreign nationals.
He explained that one victim appeared to have been caught high on the mountainside, while the other two were part of a group of five including a professional guide lower down the slope and did not see the avalanche approaching.
In Italy, rescuers reported last week that a record 13 backcountry skiers, climbers and hikers had died in the mountains over the previous seven days, including 10 in avalanches triggered by an exceptionally unstable snowpack.
Italy’s Alpine Rescue service said recent storms brought fresh snowfall, and strong winds deposited snow on weak underlying layers, creating particularly dangerous conditions across the Alpine region bordering France, Switzerland, Austria and Italy.
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