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The family of skiers who froze to death in the Swiss Alps after trying to build a snow cave have been identified.
A group of six cross-country skiers began their journey on Saturday (9 March) in Zermatt, and were 'later reported missing in the Tete Blanche area', local police said.
A search mission was underway when officials picked up a distress call from one of the missing skiers who were somewhere on the Tête Blanche mountain, which is around 12,000ft high.
However, search and rescue efforts were disrupted due to poor weather conditions, as rescuers were forced to turn back due to risks of an avalanche and a storm, which prevented helicopters from travelling up the mountain.
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With the use of mobile phone networks, rescuers were able to pinpoint the location of the missing skiers.
Tragically, five bodies were recovered on Sunday (10 March) alongside what appeared to be a 'snow cave' that had been dug, while the sixth person remains to be missing.
The five deceased have been identified and named as brothers Jean-Vincent Moix, 30, David Moix, 27, and Laurent Moix, 21.
Their cousin Marc Moix, 44, and their uncle Joel Moix, 58, also died.
Marc Moix, 44.
Joel Moix, 58.
Jean-Vincent Moix, 30.
David Moix, 27.
Laurent Moix, 21.
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Emilie Deschenaux, David's girlfriend, continues to be missing, with her backpack and skis being found next to the bodies.
In an obituary, the parents of Jean-Vincent, David and Laurent said their beloved sons 'fell asleep together' while doing something they were passionate about, while noting that 'Emilie, David's love, is still on the mountain'.
Valais police said in a statement: "At around 9:20 pm, it reached the Tete Blanche sector, where it discovered the bodies of five of the six people who were missing."
The head of Zermatt’s air rescue service Anjan Truffer told Swiss media: "The picture we found was ugly.
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"We saw that the ski tourers had tried to build a cave and protect themselves from the wind. The ski tourers froze to death at altitude, disorientated."
Head of Valais cantonal police Christian Varone said: "We were trying the impossible."
Jean-Vincent had recently been elected as the councillor of Vex, as the Mayor paid tribute to him.
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Mayor Sebastien Menoud said it was ‘such a huge tragedy’, adding: "Our thoughts are with him, his family and those around him and we express our deepest condolences to them.
"One knows that it is an immeasurable pain that his family is now confronted with.
"We would like to take some of that pain away from them, even if we can’t do too much and we know that we can’t bring the deceased back.
"In the office at the town hall on Monday there were a lot of tears but there were also people who didn’t know anything about the weekend’s drama."
Featured Image Credit: Valais Cantonal Police/DecesTopics: World News, Travel