Monte Rosa (Switzerland/Italy) - At first it looks like a rescue maneuver from an action movie, but suddenly it takes a U-turn: A pilot misused his plane as a weapon, attacking unsuspecting hikers in the snow. Only a few centimetres were missing for a massacre.

The Italian newspaper"La Stampa" conducted an interview with one of those involved, who is still in shock.

Luca Calzone, an enthusiastic mountaineer from Italy, was part of the hiking group and filmed the daring maneuver last Saturday with his cell phone.

Calzone reported that he and his companions initially thought that the landing plane was an emergency: "At that moment, I thought about how good the pilot was to have performed such a difficult maneuver. There must have been a breakdown, an emergency, I thought, and we were all ready to lend a hand."

But suddenly the pilot turned his plane, let the engine roar and sped towards the group of hikers at full speed. "We all shouted: 'It's coming towards us!' and it only just missed us," reported Luca.

Immediately afterwards, the plane took off and disappeared into the sky.

What is particularly shocking is the fact that the Mezzalama trophy was also awarded on Monte Rosa that day. The "Trofeo Mezzalama" is a ski mountaineering competition. The award ceremony attracts thousands of people to the summit of the mountain every year.

The incident has already been reported to the Swiss police.