A tourist has captured the moment an avalanche rushed down a mountainside and struck a moving train in Switzerland’s Valais canton, leaving passengers stranded for nearly two hours before they were evacuated.
The incident occurred at around 7 am local time on Tuesday, February 17, as a train was travelling through the Swiss Alps. According to the reports, the train was operating from Spiez to Brig when it encountered the avalanche between the villages of Goppenstein and Hohtenn.
Avalanche Hits Train Near Zermatt
Kirsten Osborne, an Australian woman living in the United Kingdom, filmed the incident while on board. She said the train was travelling near Zermatt, a well-known ski resort in southern Switzerland’s Valais canton, when the avalanche descended and struck.
In the video recorded by Osborne, a child passenger can be heard saying “uh-oh!” as snow barrels down the slope and engulfs the train in a cloud of powder. Moments later, startled voices fill the carriage as the impact becomes clear.
The footage, which has since circulated widely on social media, shows the scale of the snowfall as it collides with the train.
Passengers Stranded For Two Hours
Osborne said passengers remained stuck for about two hours before rescue teams arrived. Authorities later arranged bus transport to move travellers to safety.
The train operator, Matterhorn Gotthard Bahn, confirmed that no injuries were reported. However, the company suspended services on the affected route for the remainder of the day due to heightened avalanche risk.
“Passengers were evacuated in collaboration with the emergency services,” the company said.
Separately, reports noted that a train operated by Bern–Lötschberg–Simplon (BLS) AG had left the tracks between Goppenstein and Hohtenn following the avalanche.
Video Sparks Online Reactions
The video has prompted widespread reaction online. One user questioned whether avalanches are becoming more frequent, writing, “Seems like we see more and more reports of avalanches lately. I do realize it is winter but is it happening more frequently now due to climate change?”
Another user commented, “Still people got more on time to their destination, compared to if they had taken Deutsche Bahn.”
A third person claimed to have travelled on the same route days earlier, saying, “I was in that BLS train, between Brig and Goppenstein, two days before it got derailed by an avalanche.”
