3 dead, 3 injured after a helicopter crashes near a summit in the Swiss Alps

GENEVA — A helicopter ferrying a guide and visitors to a mountaintop drop-off point for skiers crashed Tuesday in the Swiss Alps, killing three people and injuring three others, police said.

Authorities opened an investigation to determine why the light utility helicopter skidded off its landing zone near the 3,668-meter (12,000-foot) Petit Combin peak in southwestern Switzerland, the regional Valais police said.

Seven rescue helicopters were deployed to the area, helping extract two of the people on board and carrying them to a nearby hospital, a police statement said. Another person was rescued but three others were found dead.

Police did not immediately specify who the victims and survivors were.

Federal prosecutors are to take charge of the investigation along with regional and national police.