Two climbers, a French and a Spanish, died, and nine were injured this Friday, by the detachment of a large block of ice in southwestern Switzerland, police said.

A group of 17 climbers were at an altitude of 3,400 meters in the sector known as the Plateau of Lunch when they climbed the Grand Combin, when they were surprised by the collapse of the block. “Two people died at the crash site. This is a 40-year-old French citizen residing in France and a 65-year-old Spaniard residing in Spain," the police said.

The authorities indicated that nine mountaineers were transferred by helicopters to two Swiss hospitals and two of them are seriously injured.

Seven helicopters and some 40 rescuers intervened in the relief operation. Police reiterated a call for extreme precautions.

The great Grand Combin is a massif whose highest peak rises to 4,314 meters.