Four people are dead following a slide on Saturday near the St Bernard monastery. 

The accident happened around 1.40pm following days with no significant snowfall. The avalanche risk at the time was 2 on a scale of 5. It happened at an altitude of 2,300m in an area known as ‘The Valley of Death’.

Reports are that 5 Italian skiers out ski touring were caught in the slide.  3 died in the slide on Saturday and the fourth person died on sunday in the hospital.

The police have confirmed the dead as two women, aged 51 and 52 years old, and two men also 51 and 52 years old.

The fifth person who was buried, a 52-year-old man, is slightly injured.

A sixth man, aged 51, was not caught in the slide and alerted the rescue services.

The avalanche death toll in Switzerland this winter now stands at 25 and conditions remain unstable in many places.