Swiss police: 5 Germans killed in Alpine accident

An aerial view from a helicopter shows the Lagginhorn Mountain, near Saas-Grund, Switzerland, on Tuesday. Five foreign climbers have been killed in the southern canton of Valais when they fell while descending from the 4,010-metre-high (13,155ft) Lagginhorn. The precise cause of the accident is not yet known. (AP/Keystone/Jean-Christophe Bott)

Swiss police say five people who died mountaineering near the Italian border were German, and they included two teenagers.

The climbers successfully reached the 13,155-foot (4,010-meter ) Lagginhorn summit in southern Switzerland Tuesday, but plunged several hundred yards (meters) to their deaths on their descent. A sixth member of the group, who had stopped before reaching the summit because he didn't feel well, alerted authorities.

Police in Valais canton (state) said Wednesday all five victims were German citizens. They included the survivor's 14-year-old daughter and 20-year-old son. A 44-year-old man, his 17-year-old son and a 21-year-old acquaintance also were killed.

Police say initial investigations show that the climbers were not roped up at the time of the accident. Authorities are working to determine the cause.