Storm Blasting work in the Saas Valley is complete - flying bridge still in place

In the Saas Valley VS, blasting work on the large boulders in the Mattwaldbach stream was completed on Saturday following the storm damage. Evacuation flights from the Saas Valley are still taking place until 6 pm on Saturday.

The next air bridge will be set up on Monday. The airlift was set up on Friday after around 2200 tourists were stranded in Saas-Fee and the surrounding area following a landslide on Friday. On Saturday morning, Air Zermatt flew a further 320 people from Saas-Fee to Stalden, as announced by the Saas regional command staff on Saturday afternoon. On Friday, 250 people had already been flown out by helicopter.

It is assumed that a further 350 people could be flown to Stalden by 6 p.m. on Saturday, according to the statement. The next airlift is to be set up on Monday. The corresponding flight times will be communicated at a later date.

The management team was not yet able to give an exact forecast of when the cantonal road into the Saas Valley could be reopened. The construction team is working at full speed to restore the road. Initially, it had been said that the road into the valley would remain closed until at least the beginning of next week.

Onlookers and impatient people who wanted to leave the Saas Valley on foot hindered and delayed the blasting work on the Mattwaldbach on Saturday, according to the command staff. The Saas regional command staff announced that it was dangerous to be in the area of the construction site and that the restoration work on the road would be delayed as a result.

SDA