Dozens of tourists found themselves stranded at one of Switzerland’s most popular mountain resorts after heavy rain triggered landslides, cutting off access to the area.
According to AP (7/9), authorities in Valais reported that from Wednesday to Thursday, intense rainfall caused several rivers in the Saas Valley to overflow between the towns of Stalden and Saas-Balen. Officials believe the roads will likely remain closed until at least early next week.
Rescue teams, along with helicopters from Air Zermatt, jumped into action to lead the evacuation. Around 2,200 tourists, mostly Swiss locals, were stuck at the Saas Fee resort in southern Valais.
Footage of fast-moving, muddy water filled with rocks spilling onto the roads dominated local news.
On Friday, pictures started popping up of long lines of people—some decked out in full hiking gear—waiting for their helicopter ride out of the area.
British and Belgian tourists spoke about their tricky situation, while some stranded folks took advantage of the downtime by relaxing with a beer at a nearby restaurant. Not a bad way to kill time, right?
An Air Zermatt spokesperson mentioned that they couldn’t immediately estimate how many people had been airlifted during the afternoon operation, which continued until nightfall.