LONDON — Some 13,000 tourists were trapped in a popular Swiss ski resort for a second straight day Tuesday as local officials warned of “large, and often very large” avalanches.
A statement on the famed resort’s website also warned of a “power breakdown all over Zermatt.”
Police and operators in the area closed roads leading in and out of the region Monday morning, and cancelled all train services Monday night. Hiking and skiing in the area, some 75 miles east of Geneva, was also banned.
The decision to cut off access to the resort was made after the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research raised the avalanche risk level to five — the maximum.
“Numerous large and, in many cases, very large natural dry avalanches are to be expected as a result of fresh snow and strong winds,” the institute warned on its website. “Exposed buildings and exposed parts of transportation routes are endangered. Without question, it is inadvisable to engage in ski touring, freeriding and snowshoe hiking outside marked and open pistes.”
Fresh snowfall Monday evening coated layers old snow, creating a perfect environment for avalanches, it added.
Resort operators said measures were preventative and sensible under the circumstances, and that there was no immediate threat to guests and residents.
“There are about 13,000 tourists at the moment that are spending the holiday here, the situation is under control and there are no safety issues,” Janine Imesch, a spokesperson for Zermatt, told NBC News.
AFP estimates the resort has a resident population of 5,500 people.
Any decision on reopening roads or rail lines would be made late Tuesday afternoon Swiss time.
“Level 5 is almost unheard of in Zermatt,” the Matterhorn Diamonds private ski school, which is based at the resort, warned in a tweet. It urged its customers to take care.
Swiss police said in a statement they were launching “preventative triggering” of smaller avalanches with the aim of opening the resort’s roads on Wednesday.
Local weather forecasts point to a reduction in snowfall during Tuesday, with no snow forecast for Wednesday.