Three people, including two British nationals, have died after a small single-engine aeroplane crashed in the Swiss Alps near Leukerbad in the canton of Valais. The Cirrus SR22T aircraft came down in the Fluhalp area on Tuesday, roughly ten minutes after departing Sion Airport, prompting the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office to confirm it is supporting the families of the two Britons involved.

According to Valais cantonal police, the plane had earlier flown from Lugano and stopped at Sion before continuing towards Buochs aerodrome when it struck a mountain slope shortly after 4pm for reasons yet to be determined. Residents who spotted smoke rising from the wreckage alerted emergency services, and rescue teams, including three helicopters and specialist personnel from the Valais Rescue Organisation, were sent to the scene. Swiss federal authorities and the Office of the Attorney General have opened investigations into the crash, which comes just days after a coach carrying 48 Dutch tourists overturned in the canton of Graubünden, killing several people.