Rescuers are searching for six skiers who have gone missing amid difficult weather conditions in the Swiss Alps.

The cross-country skiers – five of whom are members of the same family – had set off on a ski tour from the Alpine town of Zermatt, Switzerland.

They went missing around Tête Blanche mountain on Saturday, on the Zermatt-Arolla path near the Matterhorn mountain that straddles the Switzerland-Italy border, police said.

The authorities added that a storm “raging in the south of the Alps and the risk of avalanches has prevented helicopters and rescuers from approaching the area”.

The missing skiers are between the ages of 21 and 58.

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Five of them belong to one family from Switzerland’s Valais canton while the sixth person is from the city of Valais.

Zermatt is a popular resort renowned for skiing while Matterhorn is one of the best-known mountains in the Alps, standing at 4,478m tall.

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