13,000 tourists stranded in Swiss resort town due to avalanche risk

The town near the Matterhorn has been evacuating tourists.

ByABC News
January 9, 2018, 3:39 PM

— -- Snowy weather and an avalanche risk have stranded some 13,000 tourists in a Swiss resort town at the base of the Matterhorn, according to the Associated Press.

Officials from the town of Zermatt said roads were closed and trains services halted because of the snowy conditions and power outtages. Helicopters are transporting people to and from the mountain, though no evacuation order has been announced.

"The situation is actually very calm in the village," Christian Ziorjen from Zermatt Tourism said. "There is no danger for anyone."

PHOTO: A pedestrian walks in the small resort of Zinal, Swiss Alps, Jan. 9, 2018, after the access road cut by heavy snowfall reopened.
A pedestrian walks in the small resort of Zinal, Swiss Alps, Jan. 9, 2018, after the access road cut by heavy snowfall reopened.

A Facebook post from the Zermatt Matterhorn, a tourist information center, said all winter hiking trails and ski areas would remain closed until further notice. It also said officials are working to reopen the railways.

PHOTO: An avalanche crosses the road and railway on the way towards Zermatt in St. Niklaus, Switzerland, Jan. 9, 2018.
An avalanche crosses the road and railway on the way towards Zermatt in St. Niklaus, Switzerland, Jan. 9, 2018.

The local police could not be immediately reached for comment.

The Matterhorn is a famous mountain in the Alps, on the border between Switzerland and Italy.