A British skier has reportedly died in an avalanche in the French Alps. The Englishman, 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 headed to the site, the resort said. A team of around 52 people, including medics, ski school instructors and a helicopter-deployed piste dog, were deployed. The man was found after 50 minutes of searching under 2.5 metres of snow, the resort said. His life could sadly not be saved.
He was with a group when the avalanche struck, but was not equipped with an avalanche transceiver, the statement added.
La Plagne said its thoughts were with the man’s family.
The UK national is believed to be one of the six people killed in a number of avalanches across ski resorts in the French Alps this weekend, as “unstable” conditions hit the area.
A skier, whose nationality was not immediately disclosed, died in an avalanche while off-piste in the Courchevel resort.
A 32-year-old ski patroller from Chamonix died after being hit by an avalanche in Vallorcine and thrown against a tree, according to local publication Daphine Libere.
On Saturday, two French skiers died in Val-d’Isère as they were hit by an avalanche while skiing off-piste.
On the same day, two skiers were surprised by another avalanche while skiing off-piste at the Arêches-Beaufort resort. One of them was flown to hospital with serious injuries, while the second person was pronounced dead at the scene.
The prefect of the Savoie department urged skiers to be “extremely careful” as six avalanches had been registered in the areas on Sunday before noon alone.
The statement said: “The snow cover is unstable and there is a major risk of avalanches….today and in the coming days. For your safety and that of rescue workers, be extremely careful.”
