The corpse of the Spanish canyonist Diego Maeztu, disappeared on Aug 12, 2020 in an accident in which also his three companions died, has finally been found in the Vattis area of the canton of St. Gallen (Eastern Switzerland), where the event occurred, the Swiss press reported on Tuesday.
The local newspaper The New Zurich Times did not give details about the place and circumstances of the find, but indicated that the lifeless body was recovered in an area near the Parlitobel gorges, where the accident occurred.
For its part, Navarra News assures that the corpse appeared after being dredging the Gigerwald reservoir.
Surprised by a storm
Maeztu, 38 years old and resident in the Navarran town of Allo, saw surprised by a strong storm when he was canyoning with his companions Mikel Lasa (33 years), Mikel Zabalza (29) and Tontxu González (48). All four were washed away by the water and the rocks in a ravine in the Swiss Alps.
The corpses of these three canyoners, who like Maeztu had wide experience in this sport, were found shortly after the accident occurred nine months ago in the nearby Gigerwald reservoir.
The Maeztu quest was seen interrupted after the first days by the rain, but it resumed later in small groups, although the agents considered it unlikely that the athlete would appear alive.
Accidents are frequent in this area
The alpine areas of Switzerland They are a frequent destination for canyoning lovers and they are also common accidents related to this sport risk in the Central European country.
The worst of the last decades occurred in 1999, when eighteen athletes and three guides from Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and Switzerland they died in a flood while canyoning in the saxetbach cannon, in the tourist area of Interlaken (center of the country).