Latest news with #FeeGlacier
CNN
09-07-2025
- General
- CNN
He fell into a crevasse. Then his Chihuahua saved the day
Rescuers are hailing as a 'four-legged hero' a furry Chihuahua whose pacing atop an Alpine rock helped a helicopter crew find its owner, who had fallen into a crevasse on a Swiss glacier nearby. The man, who was not identified, was exploring the Fee Glacier in southern Switzerland on Friday when he broke through a snow bridge and fell nearly 8 meters (about 26 feet), according to Air Zermatt, a rescue, training and transport company. Equipped with a walkie-talkie, the man connected with a person nearby who relayed the accident to emergency services. But the exact location was unknown. After about a half-hour search, the pacing pooch caught the eye of a rescue team member. As the crew zeroed on the Chihuahua, the hole the man fell into became more visible. Rescuers rappelled down, rescued the man and flew him and his canine companion to a hospital. 'Imagine if the dog wasn't there,' Air Zermatt spokesman Bruno Kalbermatten said by phone. 'I have no idea what would happen to this guy. I think he wouldn't survive this fall into the crevasse.' On its website, the company was effusive: 'The dog is a four-legged hero who may have saved his master's life in a life-threatening situation.'
CNN
09-07-2025
- General
- CNN
He fell into a crevasse. Then his Chihuahua saved the day
Rescuers are hailing as a 'four-legged hero' a furry Chihuahua whose pacing atop an Alpine rock helped a helicopter crew find its owner, who had fallen into a crevasse on a Swiss glacier nearby. The man, who was not identified, was exploring the Fee Glacier in southern Switzerland on Friday when he broke through a snow bridge and fell nearly 8 meters (about 26 feet), according to Air Zermatt, a rescue, training and transport company. Equipped with a walkie-talkie, the man connected with a person nearby who relayed the accident to emergency services. But the exact location was unknown. After about a half-hour search, the pacing pooch caught the eye of a rescue team member. As the crew zeroed on the Chihuahua, the hole the man fell into became more visible. Rescuers rappelled down, rescued the man and flew him and his canine companion to a hospital. 'Imagine if the dog wasn't there,' Air Zermatt spokesman Bruno Kalbermatten said by phone. 'I have no idea what would happen to this guy. I think he wouldn't survive this fall into the crevasse.' On its website, the company was effusive: 'The dog is a four-legged hero who may have saved his master's life in a life-threatening situation.'
The Guardian
09-07-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Tiny pet dog credited with helping to save hiker trapped in Swiss glacier
A small pet dog is being hailed as a 'four-legged hero' for helping to save his owner's life after he fell down an icy crevasse in the Swiss Alps. The Air Zermatt helicopter company credited the pint-sized pooch with drawing their attention to the location of the hiker, who was extracted and taken to hospital. The pair had taken a walk on the Fee glacier above Saas-Fee near the Italian border on Friday afternoon when the man 'suddenly broke through a snow bridge', Air Zermatt said, sending him plunging into the 8 metre-deep crevasse. 'While the man was stuck in the glacier ice, his faithful companion … was left at the edge of the crevasse,' the company said, recounting what it called an 'extraordinary' mission. Air Zermatt described the dog as a chihuahua, though based on the pictures it released, the German newspaper Bild raised the possibility that the dog may in fact be a papillon, a type of spaniel. The hiker was carrying an amateur walkie-talkie, which he used to call for help. A person nearby picked up but had difficulty pinpointing the man's location, at an elevation of about 3,200 metres. Air Zermatt dispatched a crew with three rescue specialists in the direction of the Fee glacier, but the collapse site was hard to find given the breadth of the glacier's surface and the small size of the hole. 'Then a decisive moment: one of the rescue specialists spotted a small movement on a rock: the chihuahua!' the company said. The shivering dog barked from a perch next to the hole through which its owner had fallen, allowing rescuers to abseil down and lift the man to safety while his pet looked on. Both he and the dog were then flown to a local hospital. Sign up to Headlines Europe A digest of the morning's main headlines from the Europe edition emailed direct to you every week day after newsletter promotion 'The dog is a four-legged hero who may have saved his master's life in a life-threatening situation,' Air Zermatt said. Teams from Air Zermatt had warned in March about the danger to hikers posed by crevasses, reporting seven rescue missions within two weeks. St Bernards, weighing in at many times the size of a chihuahua or papillon, are the most common mountain rescue dogs in the Alps, famed for their valour in avalanches and other disasters. They are credited with saving about 2,000 travellers over the past two centuries on the St Bernard Pass on the border with Italy. However, because they tend to be slow and expensive to feed, many have been replaced over the years by helicopters and heat sensors.
The Independent
08-07-2025
- General
- The Independent
Chihuahua hailed a ‘four-legged hero' after helping rescuers find owner who fell into a glacier
A Chihuahua has been hailed a 'four-legged hero' after its pacing on an Alpine rock helped a helicopter crew find its owner who had fallen into a crevasse on a glacier in Switzerland. The man, who was not identified, was exploring the Fee Glacier in southern Switzerland on Friday when he broke through a snow bridge and fell nearly eight meters (about 26 feet), according to Air Zermatt, a rescue, training and transport company. Equipped with a walkie-talkie, the man connected with a person nearby who relayed the accident to emergency services. But the exact location was unknown. After about a half-hour search, the pacing pooch caught the eye of a rescue team member. As the crew zeroed on the Chihuahua, the hole the man fell into became more visible. Rescuers rappelled down, rescued the man and flew him and his canine companion to a hospital. 'Imagine if the dog wasn't there," Air Zermatt spokesman Bruno Kalbermatten said by phone. "I have no idea what would happen to this guy. I think he wouldn't survive this fall into the crevasse.' On its website, the company was effusive: 'The dog is a four-legged hero who may have saved his master's life in a life-threatening situation.'
The Guardian
08-07-2025
- General
- The Guardian
Tiny pet dog credited with helping to save hiker trapped in Swiss glacier
A small pet dog is being hailed as a 'four-legged hero' for helping to save his owner's life after he fell down an icy crevasse in the Swiss Alps. The Air Zermatt helicopter company credited the pint-sized pooch with drawing their attention to the location of the hiker, who he was extracted and taken to hospital. The pair had taken a walk on the Fee glacier above Saas-Fee near the Italian border on Friday afternoon when the man 'suddenly broke through a snow bridge', Air Zermatt said, sending him plunging into the 8-metre-deep crevasse. 'While the man was stuck in the glacier ice, his faithful companion … was left at the edge of the crevasse,' the company said, recounting what it called an 'extraordinary' mission. Air Zermatt described the dog as a chihuahua, though based on the pictures it released, the German newspaper Bild raised the possibility that the dog may in fact be a papillon, a type of spaniel. The hiker was carrying an amateur walkie-talkie, which he used to call for help. A person nearby picked up but had difficulty pinpointing the man's location, at an elevation of about 3,200 metres. Air Zermatt dispatched a crew with three rescue specialists in the direction of the Fee glacier, but the collapse site was hard to find given the breadth of the glacier's surface and the small size of the hole. 'Then a decisive moment: one of the rescue specialists spotted a small movement on a rock: the chihuahua!' the company said. The shivering dog barked from a perch next to the hole through which its owner had fallen, allowing rescuers to abseil down and lift the man to safety while his pet looked on. Both he and the dog were then flown to a local hospital. Sign up to Headlines Europe A digest of the morning's main headlines from the Europe edition emailed direct to you every week day after newsletter promotion 'The dog is a four-legged hero who may have saved his master's life in a life-threatening situation,' Air Zermatt said. Teams from Air Zermatt had warned in March about the danger to hikers posed by crevasses, reporting seven rescue missions within two weeks. St Bernards, weighing in at many times the size of a chihuahua or papillon, are the most common mountain rescue dogs in the Alps, famed for their valour in avalanches and other disasters. They are credited with saving about 2,000 travellers over the past two centuries on the St Bernard Pass on the border with Italy. However, because they tend to be slow and expensive to feed, many have been replaced over the years by helicopters and heat sensors.
