Three skiers, including two tourists, have died after being caught in an avalanche that surprised holidaymakers at a popular European ski resort.
They were killed in an avalanche at the plush Val-d’Isere ski resort in France, and it is understood they were swept away in a violent snowslide in an off-piste section. The ski resort’s tourist office said among the dead are one French and two foreign skiers, The Sun reported.
With a message shared on X today, a local authority said: « The heavy precipitation of the last few hours has led to accumulations of 60 cm to 1 metre of snow in the Savoyard massifs. The return of milder weather this Friday morning could encourage some mountain users to head out.
« The orange alert ended this morning, downgraded to yellow level. However, almost all of the Savoyard massifs are classified at a high avalanche risk of 4/5 by Météo France. In this context and following these unprecedented snowfall amounts, the Prefect of Savoie formally advises against off-piste activities, ski touring and snowshoeing. They urge mountain users to strictly follow the instructions provided by professionals and the ski patrol services. »
Last month, a British skier has been killed by an avalanche in the French Alps. The man, believed to be in his 50s, was skiing off-piste at the La Plagne resort in south-eastern France, the resort said in a statement.
Rescue teams received an avalanche alert at 1.57pm on Sunday and immediately went to the site, the resort said. A team of around 52 people, including medics, ski school instructors and a helicopter-deployed piste dog, were called in.
The man was found after 50 minutes of searching under 2.5 metres of snow, the resort said. He was with a group when the avalanche struck, but was not equipped with an avalanche transceiver and was not with a professional instructor, it added. La Plagne said its thoughts were with the man’s family.
Source link
