The sole survivor of an avalanche that killed three climbers on Ben Nevis has described being suddenly swept away by the force of the snowslide.

Mathieu Biselx, 30, has told a Swiss newspaper he and his climbing companions had only two seconds’ warning before being hit by the sudden avalanche on No 5 Gully on the mountain, the UK’s highest peak.

Speaking from his bed in Queen Elizabeth university hospital, Glasgow, Biselx told Le Nouvelliste: “It was between noon and 1pm when everything went wrong.

“We were not very high and all of a sudden we heard a noise. We turned around and two seconds later, we were swept away by heavy, compact snow. I lost consciousness and when I woke up, only my head and one arm came out of the snow mass.”

The president of the Swiss Alpine Club of Sion, Biselx had arrived in Scotland on Sunday with three fellow club members, who were all killed by the avalanche. Two of the dead were French and aged 41 and 32, while the third, 43, was Swiss. Their next of kin have all been told.

“I am seriously injured. Both my legs, my back, one shoulder and one arm are affected but I’ll get through it,” he added. But he has lost close friends. “It’s awful. They are no longer here. They won’t see their families again.”

The four climbers had tackled Ben Nevis despite a rare warning of a high risk of avalanche from the Scottish Avalanche Information Service (SAIS), the first such alert it had put out this winter.

Following their deaths, the authorities have urged climbers in Scotland to pay attention to avalanche forecasts. Lochaber mountain rescue team (MRT) said it was the third avalanche in No 5 Gully since Saturday, when another group of four climbers narrowly escaped serious injury.

In a statement on its website, the rescue team offered sincere condolences to the family and friends of those who died, but added: “We would urge climbers to check the SAIS avalanche information before heading out at [the] moment.

“The high winds and snow are creating high avalanche risk conditions, with natural releases possible on certain aspects.”

It is not clear whether the climbers were in No 5 Gully itself when the avalanche took place, but Mark Diggins, the SAIS coordinator, said it was essential climbers paid attention to warnings and planned properly.

He said the weather and snow conditions on Tuesday were “emphatically bad” and that climbers had to avoid gambling in such situations.

“It is tragic when people are avalanched in places which we have identified,” he said. “There is work to be done in terms of decision-making processes that they go through to be in that situation.”

We “provide people with good information and it’s not stopping people going into the mountains. It is enabling people with good information to make good decisions.”

Mountain rescue teams and a coastguard helicopter were scrambled after the alarm was raised by an SAIS volunteer and a mountain guide who had seen the climbers caught in the avalanche.

The rescue operation was hampered by winds of up to 80mph, lightning, thunder and snowfall around the 1,345-metre (4,413ft) peak, which initially prevented the coastguard helicopter from reaching the site.

The 29 volunteers involved in the rescue and recovery operation were helped by an air ambulance, which took the injured mountaineer to hospital, and a British army unit from the joint service mountain training centre based in Wales.

John Stevenson, the Lochaber MRT leader, said: “I would certainly not have been climbing in a gully on that day. We have had three avalanches since Saturday in No 5 Gully. Sometimes people think that because there has been an avalanche, it is now safe. It isn’t.

“When an avalanche starts, it just keeps going, there’s no stopping it. The high winds are moving fresh snow all about. You just don’t know what is above you. The mountains are always going to be there. There is no shame in turning back.”

Insp Vince Tough, a force spokesman, urged all climbers to pay attention to weather and avalanche forecasts before setting off, and if necessary change their plans. “We would encourage climbers to look at this information and be prepared to alter their routes and plans if there are indications of inclement weather or conditions which could affect their climb,” he said.

• This article was amended on 13 and 14 March 2019. A headline description of Scottish avalanches as rare was removed. A caption was changed because the photo was said to show Ben Nevis when the mountain pictured was Aonach Mor.