Near-tragedy on Monte Rosa: tourist plane lands and takes off among ski mountaineers

A tragedy was narrowly avoided on Monte Rosa yesterday when a Swiss light aircraft landed for a few seconds below Colle Sesia and, even more astonishingly, turned around and took off right between the groups of ski mountaineers ascending toward Capanna Margherita. As can be seen clearly in the video filmed by Luca Calzone, the plane passed within meters of the alpinists as it attempted to gain speed and take off.

The reckless maneuver could have ended in disaster, especially since the Trofeo Mezzalama ski-mountaineering race was underway and had drawn thousands of spectators to the hmassif. It is hoped that the incident, which occurred on the Swiss side of the mountain, will be urgently investigated by the relevant authorities.