Woman trampled to death by cows in Switzerland

A 77-year-old German woman has been trampled to death by a herd of cows in the Alps near the resort town of Laax, Swiss authorities said.

Swiss police told the dpa news agency that the Berlin tourist apparently decided to take a shortcut between a restaurant in the mountains and a cable-car station by entering a fenced-off area and trying to walk through the herd.

Police say the cows, apparently seeking to protect their calves, trampled the woman.

A cyclist who witnessed the incident alerted authorities and a doctor was called to try to save the woman but she died at the scene.