High school swimmer Alex Beiga, 15, has died in a Swiss avalanche, his coach has reported to local media.
Beiga, who swam for Naperville Central High School and the Academy Bullets Swim Club, was skiing in Switzerland while on spring break. The avalanche occured in an area away from the prepared ski runs area of Riffelberg above the Zermatt resort and below the Matterhorn.
The avalanche occurred around 2PM local time on Monday. Three skiiers died, another was seriously hurt.
A GoFundMe started for his family raised over $48,000 as of the time of posting.
“I’ll miss his smile. I’ll miss his laughter. I’ll miss the way he picks up the coaches even if we’re having a rough day,” said Academy Bullet Coach Brian Brown told a local ABC affiliate. “The fact that I’m never going to see him in a pool anymore is just hard for me to comprehend.”
Beiga was a freshman at Naperville Central and last raced at a Winter Regional Championship event, swimming best times in both the 100 yard breaststroke (1:04.79) and 200 yard breaststroke (2:20.10).
So tragic. Peace to all his friend, relatives and classmates.
Rest In Peace. Prayers for his family and the entire Bullets’ team. Such a very sad loss.
So young. Rest in peace. Prayers to his family and friends
Very sad🙏🏽
This is horrible! Almost unbelievable! Just awful. 🙏