Two skiers are dead and another injured in avalanche on mountain in Italy
While two skiers lost their lives due to an avalanche that occurred off the trail in Italy, close to the borders of France and Switzerland, another had a narrow escape by being buried in the snow.
At least three skiers were caught in an avalanche in the Mont Blanc massif on Sunday morning.
According to Italy’s Alpine Rescue, the tragedy occurred on the Couloir Vesses, a well-known freeride route in Courmayeur in the upper Val Veny.
One of the injured, who was in serious condition, was taken to hospital but later died.
15 rescuers, three dog units and two helicopters participated in the search and rescue efforts.
Courmayeur, a town of approximately 2,900 inhabitants, is located 200 km northwest of Milan, one of the host venues for Milan-Cortina. Winter Olympics.
Another person in Trentino was partially buried by an avalanche but was rescued by friends, authorities reported Sunday.
A record 13 skiers, climbers and hikers died in the Italian mountains in the first week of February, Alpine Rescue reported last Monday; 10 of these were in avalanches triggered by an extraordinarily unstable snowpack.
While a rescue helicopter arrived at the scene after two skiers lost their lives, another one who was buried in the snow after an avalanche that occurred off the trail in Italy narrowly escaped.
At least three skiers were caught in an avalanche in the Mont Blanc massif on Sunday morning
15 rescuers, three dog units and two helicopters participated in the search and rescue effort
Alpine Rescue said fresh snowfall during recent storms and weak inner layers of wind-driven snowpack had created particularly risky conditions along the entire Alpine crescent bordering France, Switzerland and Austria.
The latest incident comes just after two Britons were among three people killed in an avalanche in the French Alps, a day after many ski resorts were closed due to the risk of snowslides.
The avalanche that occurred in Val-d’Isère on Friday dragged six skiers in an area off the pistes as a red alert was issued in the Alps, killing a French citizen and two Britons.
A resort official said emergency services responded quickly but were unable to prevent the deaths, noting that all of the victims had avalanche transceivers.
The deaths followed a rare, day-long red alert in the southeastern Savoie region on Thursday; this was a danger level given only twice since the system was introduced 25 years ago. The warning prompted many resorts to close all or part of their pistes.
On Friday, the red alert was lifted in Savoie, but the risk level remained high in the Alps with ‘very unstable snow cover’, especially above altitudes of 1,800 to 2,000 metres, according to the Meteo France weather service.
Storm Nils passed through France on Thursday, dumping 60 to 100 centimeters of snow, according to the weather service.
A third British citizen suffered minor injuries from the avalanche on Friday, Albertville prosecutor Benoit Bachelet said.
The avalanche that occurred in Val-d’Isère on Friday dragged six skiers in an area off the pistes as a red alert was issued across the Alps, killing a French citizen and two Britons.
The two Britons killed in Val-d’Isère were part of a group of four skiers accompanied by a professional instructor and were skiing off piste at the time (file image)
The two Britons killed were part of a group of four skiers accompanied by a professional instructor and were skiing off piste at the time.
All were equipped with avalanche safety equipment, including transceivers, shovels and probes, according to the resort.
Prosecutor Mr. Bachelet said alcohol and drug tests on the trainer came back negative.
Course chief Cedric Bonnevie said one of the victims appeared to have been caught further up the hill.
The other two were among a group of five people, including a professional guide, and were further down the mountain and had not seen the avalanche approaching.
Mr Bonnevie said the cause of the avalanche was unclear.
This follows the deaths of two skiers in an avalanche in the French Alps last Monday, following the deaths of two more skiers in a separate slide last weekend.
A 38-year-old man was killed in Saint-Agnes, near Grenoble, local police said. The skier he was with escaped unhurt.
Local prosecutor Marion Lozac’hmeur said another man in his early 30s was the victim of a ‘very large avalanche’ while skiing in an off-piste area near the village of Montgenevre.
He added that another person who was with the victim was not harmed.
Meanwhile, last Saturday in the French Alps, two off-piste ski tourists lost their lives due to an avalanche near Saint-Veran, known as the highest village in the French Alps.
The two victims were part of a group of four unguided skiers when an avalanche hit the north side of the Tete de Longet mountain peak.
So far this season, avalanches have killed at least 20 skiers in the French, Swiss, Italian and Austrian Alps.
It was reported that a British man was among the six skiers who died due to an avalanche in the French Alps last month.
In a statement made by the resort, it was stated that the Englishman, believed to be in his 50s, was skiing off-piste in the La Plagne resort in southeast France.
The facility said that rescue teams received an avalanche warning at 13.57 on January 11 and went to the area immediately.
A team of more than 50 people was called, including paramedics, ski school instructors and a helicopter-deployed piste dog.
The man was found 50 minutes later buried under 8 feet of snow but could not be saved, the facility said.
It was also stated that he was with a group when the avalanche occurred, but he was not equipped with an avalanche transceiver and was not accompanied by a professional instructor.
The Daily Mail previously reported at least 17 deaths on the European slopes between December and January.
