Plane from Lugano crashes in Valais, killing three

A plane crash killed three people on Tuesday afternoon in Valais. A light single-engine aircraft, a Cirrus SR22T, had taken off from Lugano and made a stopover at Sion airport. Shortly after 4pm it had set off again towards Buochs airfield, in the canton of Nidwalden, when it crashed in the Leukerbad area, hitting the north side of the mountain in the Fluhalp area.

Three people were on board, the pilot and two passengers. None of them survived. Witnesses had noticed smoke in the area and raised the alarm. Three rescue helicopters were sent to the scene, but the crews could only confirm the deaths of those on board. Valais cantonal police only reported the accident on Wednesday, a day after it happened. Identification of the victims is still under way.

Two parallel investigations

Two authorities are now investigating the causes of the crash in parallel. The Swiss Safety Investigation Board is looking into the technical, flight-safety aspects. The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland is handling the criminal aspects of the case. The two investigations are being carried out in close collaboration.