A British man in his 30s was part of a group of five people who were skiing off-piste near the resort town of La Grave in the French Alps when the avalanche struck
A Brit has died in yet another skiing tragedy after two others were killed following an avalanche.
The man in his 30s was part of a group of five people who were skiing off-piste near the resort town of La Grave, in the French Alps when the avalanche struck. Mountain rescuers came to the scene but the Briton and a Polish citizen were pronounced dead.
Several hikers were also caught up in a second avalanche in the neighbouring Valloire area where one person was killed and two others were left in critical condition, according to authorities.
It comes just days after two British men were among three killed in an avalanche in the Val d’Isere ski resort on Friday morning. Local authorities have launched investigations to determine the cause of death following the avalanches.
Stuart Leslie, 46, and Shaun Overy, 51, were part of a group of five who went off-piste with an instructor on the slope in Val d’Isère, south-east France on Friday amid a red avalanche alert in the area.
The two friends were killed after being swept away by falling snow, along with a French national, who was skiing alone. They were pushed to the bottom of the slope into a stream, where their bodies were later discovered by emergency services.
Another British skier survived the incident after digging himself out of the snow, reported local media.
Cédric Bonnevie, piste director at Val d’Isère, said the avalanche rumbled down the slope for 400 metres (1,300ft) before ending in the stream. The cause of the avalanche remains unknown, though French media said it may have been triggered by the solo skier above the group.
The two men were found within just 15 minutes of the incident, as they had avalanche transceivers with them. But the third body took longer to find, as the device was submerged in the stream, preventing it from working. A dog team was sent out and avalanche probes used before the body was found several hours later.
On Tuesday, an avalanche warning was issued for the Northern Alps and the Hautes-Alpes, which includes La Grave, by Meteo-France, the country’s national weather service. It said the avalanche risk remains high on Wednesday as sunshine is forecast, leading to thawing ice.
