Swiss trainers injured

In a statement the Swedish Ski Association said Locher, who finished third in the alpine combination at the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville, had fractured his pelvis and a vertebrae in his neck but had not sustained any nerve injury.

He has been moved to a hospital in Uppsala, north of Stockholm, to undergo surgery. His colleague Curdin Fasser was also seriously injured, sustaining a minor brain haemhorrage and fracturing his left leg.

Two other members of the Swiss staff also suffered minor injuries when their van collided with a truck near Are in northern Sweden, the association said.

It said the World Cup competitions in Are had been suspended on Wednesday due to the accident but the slalom scheduled for Thursday would go ahead as scheduled as the request of the skiers.