ZERMATT, Switzerland (AP) - The Latest on the thousands of tourists stranded in the Swiss ski town of Zermatt, near the Matterhorn (all times local):
5:35 p.m.
A train packed with tourists has begun the descent from a snowbound town near Switzerland’s Matterhorn as railway service resumed following a nearly two-day suspension due to avalanche risks.
Passenger cars with a capacity of 250 set off from Zermatt station after teams cleared huge snowdrifts from the more than 1 meter (39 inches) of snow that blanketed the region, coating railways and roads and leaving some 13,000 tourists stranded.
The Zermatt tourism office said Wednesday: “After being cut off for almost two days, Zermatt can now be accessed by train again.” It said teams were working “as a matter of urgency” to try to open roads to Zermatt.
The move came as Switzerland’s avalanche institute, SLF, lowered the avalanche risk from the highest level, five, to four earlier Wednesday.
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10:45 a.m.
Train service to a snowbound ski town at the foot of Switzerland’s famed Matterhorn is remaining suspended for a while longer.
The Zermatt tourism office initially said a rail line from the town was due to partially reopen Wednesday. It then said the line would remain closed at least until the afternoon.
The revised timetable came after helicopter crews spotted a new snow mass left over from an avalanche days earlier.
Helicopter teams were also deploying to trigger controlled avalanches to release snow buildup after more than 1 meter (39 inches) of snow fell in some parts of the region in 24 hours.
Frank Techel, an avalanche forecaster at Swiss avalanche research institute SLF, said that roughly 3-4 meters (about 10-13 feet) of snow had been dumped on the Zermatt area so far this year, which he called an “extraordinary” amount for the region in such a short span.
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9:50 a.m.
Officials in a town at the foot of Switzerland’s famed Matterhorn are resuming helicopter flights to ferry out stranded tourists amid efforts to open roads and rail lines that have been closed due to heavy snowfall and an elevated avalanche risk.
The rail line from the town of Zermatt is also due to partially reopen later Wednesday.
A police official in Zermatt, who was not authorized to give his name, said an estimated 300 to 400 people flew out the day before, when some 13,000 tourists were unable to leave by road or rail.
Local officials said no lives are in danger and the situation is calm, with cafes open and many streets clear.
Helicopter teams were also deploying to trigger controlled avalanches to release snow buildup after more than 1 meter (39 inches) of snow fell in some parts of the region in 24 hours.
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