By Christiane Oelrich

Oberalp Pass - During an avalanche course in Graubünden, Switzerland, things suddenly became very serious for a group of 40 people.

Above the training area, a 30-metre-wide snow slab broke loose and buried three people.

However, the others were able to rescue them largely unharmed within ten minutes, reported Swiss Air-Rescue.

One person was flown to hospital for a check-up.

Swiss Air-Rescue pointed out that avalanche equipment that sends out a signal and rapid deployment are important for rescuing buried victims.

Both were the case in the incident. Those who were dug out quickly had the best chance of survival.