11 injured as landslide derails train cars in Alps

Three train cars derailed and 11 people were injured after a Swiss mountain train ran into a landslide in the Alps. Miraculously, no one was killed.

One carriage slid off the tracks onto a steep slope and was halted by trees.

The accident happened in a deep wooded valley between Tiefencastel and Solis, south-east of Zurich in the canton of Graubuenden.

Some 200 people were on board at the time of the accident, which followed heavy rain in the region.

Five people were seriously injured and another six sustained slight injuries They were taken to nearby hospitals as rescue helicopters helped recovery efforts.

By mid-afternoon, all passengers had been evacuated, with the uninjured taken to Tiefencastel.

The train had set off from the ski resort of St Moritz on a line that leads north to Chur.

It is operated by Rhaetische Bahn, which runs narrow-gauge routes in Switzerland’s mountainous south-eastern corner that are popular with tourists.

Meanwhile five French climbers died and a sixth was missing on France’s Mont Blanc, after a night of snow and wind on Europe’s tallest mountain.

August is the height of the climbing season on Mont Blanc, where even in the warmest months fierce storms can strike quickly.

Several mountaineers have died already this summer and local officials say they fear many people come to Mont Blanc ill-prepared.

The group of five climbers and a guide were reported missing overnight when they failed to return after a trip to the 3,900m Aiguille d’Argentiere. The bodies of five of the climbers were found yesterday.