Five family members who froze to death on ski trip named as brothers and cousin
All five family members who froze to death on a Swiss skiing trip have been pictured for the first time.
The search for the sixth member - the girlfriend of one of the dead men - resumes after a vicious storm subsided yesterday in Switzerland. Brothers Jean-Vincent Moix, 30, David Moix, 27, and Laurent Moix, 21, died and their cousin Marc Moix, 44, and their 58-year-old uncle Joel Moix also couldn't be saved.
The parents of Jean-Vincent, David and Laurent said in a poignant tribute that their beloved sons "fell asleep together" while doing something they were passionate about.
The backpack and skis of 28-year-old Emilie Deschenaux, David's girlfriend, were found next to the bodies on the Tete Blanche mountain in the Swiss Alps over the weekend but the law graduate remains missing.
Jean-Vincent Moix was one of the five skiers found dead in the Swiss Alps on Sunday (DECES.CH)
Tributes have also been paid to 21-year-old Laurent Moix (DECES.CH)Marc Moix's death notice by his family reads: "After a last hike in the mountains to share his light, he has become our new star, which will now be our guide."
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His loved ones also thanked those involved in the search for Marc and the others, writing: "Through their professionalism, their availability, their listening, their empathy, they brought everyone a little light and comfort in these difficult moments of waiting."
Meanwhile Joel's wife and two daughters said he "left full of enthusiasm for his last ascent with his dear climbing companions". Swiss authorities have not yet confirmed that Emilie is the sixth missing member of the group. This comes after rescuers desperately searching for Emilie have said "miracles happen" as they hope to find her alive.
David Moix 'fell asleep with his siblings' while doing something they were passionate about (DECES.CH)
The search for Emilie Deschenaux, David's partner, resumesAir Zermatt chief Anjan Truffer, the lead rescuer deployed to find the group, said his team previously saved people who had been missing for days, giving workers a glimmer of hope that Emilie may still be alive.
"We have already found missing people several days later, miracles always happen," he said, after local police spokesman Daniel Imboden told Blick that hope remains Emilie may have survived the storm.
Swiss media have speculated she may have fallen into a nearby crevice, given that her backpack and skis were found but rescuers have been unable to visually locate her.
"The area is full of crevices - [she] may have fallen near the other members of the group. But this is just speculation," Mr Truffer said. Earlier the mountain rescue chief described how his team discovered five bodies scattered on the mountain.
"First we found two people lying on the snow, severely hypothermic. Thanks to sounding poles and avalanche locators, we later found two more people lying under the snow cover. We had to shovel these out. When we found the people, they were very lightly dressed... they ended up disorientated at high altitude," Mr Truffer told Swiss outlet NZZ.
Joel Moix, 58, leaves behind a wife and two daughters (DECES.CH)
A helicopter of the Swiss Air Force flies above Tete Blanche peakHe added that the ski tourers had tried to build a cave and protect themselves from the gales - in temperatures of -30 degrees C with wind chill and gusts of up to 75 miles per hour - to no avail.
"That's actually a good idea. But the group didn't have the necessary equipment with them. They had shovels, but they were too light to do anything with this massive blanket of snow," MrTruffer concluded.
The skiers were only wearing thin suits and only carried light equipment, according to local media - despite forecasts of dangerous gusts on the mountain.
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"It's crazy. 'You can see it coming, a wall of clouds,' a mountain tourer told Blick about the approaching storm in the mountains. Mr Truffer added: "It is negligent to undertake such hikes with such weather forecasts."
Colleagues of Jean-Vincent paid tribute to him on Monday, including the mayor of Vex - a small village in the Swiss canton of Valais where the deceased had only recently been elected as a councillor.
The former private banker, who was educated at the University of Westminster, was a keen mountaineer and had decided to switch careers. Mayor Sebastien Menoud said: "It is such a huge tragedy to lose a colleague on the local council. Our thoughts are with him, his family and those around him and we express our deepest condolences to them. One knows that it is an immeasurable pain that his family is now confronted with.'
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