3 Spaniards dead, 1 missing in Swiss canyoning accident

Swiss broadcaster SRF reported that the men were on a private tour through the Parlitobel Gorge, a popular canyoning destination about 85 kilometers (53 miles) southeast of Zurich, when they were surprised by the storm. Canyoning involves jumping, sliding and rappelling into mountain rivers and swimming downstream in protective gear.

Swiss authorities say three Spanish tourists on a canyoning tour have died and one is missing after a heavy storm. Police in the eastern canton (state) of St. Gallen said Thursday that the four men were reported missing the previous night.

Rescuers were able to recover three bodies overnight but had to break off the search for the fourth missing person due to adverse weather. The search resumed early Thursday. Swiss broadcaster SRF reported that the men were on a private tour through the Parlitobel Gorge, a popular canyoning destination about 85 kilometers (53 miles) southeast of Zurich, when they were surprised by the storm.

Canyoning involves jumping, sliding and rappelling into mountain rivers and swimming downstream in protective gear. There have been numerous fatal canyoning accidents in the Alps over the years.

In 1999, a group of foreign tourists on a canyoning expedition near the Swiss resort of Interlaken were swept away by a flash flood. Eighteen young people from Australia, New Zealand, Britain and South Africa, and three of their guides drowned. Six former employees of an adventure company the tourists had booked with were convicted of negligent manslaughter over the Saxet Brook disaster and received suspended sentences.

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