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Ontario paramedic among Canadians dead in Swiss avalanche: Perth County

An Ontario county has confirmed that a local paramedic was among the Canadians killed after being caught in an avalanche while on vacation in Switzerland.
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An Ontario county says a local paramedic is dead in an avalanche while she was snowboarding during a vacation in Switzerland. In this handout photo provided by Kantonspolizei Wallis, Rescuers work on a site of an avalanche fell on the Riffelberg, Switzerland, Tuesday, April 2, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Keystone, HO-KANTONSPOLIZEI WALLIS, *MANDATORY CREDIT*

An Ontario county has confirmed that a local paramedic was among the Canadians killed after being caught in an avalanche while on vacation in Switzerland. 

Officials in Perth County say Nikky Nagy, who died in the accident, was "a bright, caring, amazing person" who began working as a primary care paramedic in April 2022. 

The Canadian military has said Capt. Sean Thomas is presumed dead after going missing on April 1 during the avalanche. 

Local authorities had reported that three people were killed in an off-piste area of the Riffelberg, above the resort and below the famed Matterhorn peak.

The military says Thomas joined the Armed Forces in 2018 and he'd been deployed to Jordan last November as part of the Canadian Training Assistance Team.

He was set to return home next month.

-- With files from The Associated Press.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 8, 2024.

The Canadian Press

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