British woman, 45 dies after avalanche in the French Alps
15 January 2023, 20:20 | Updated: 15 January 2023, 20:25
A British woman, 45, has died after getting caught in an avalanche while hiking with two others in the French Alps, rescue services said.
The incident occurred on the Argentiere Glacier on Mont Blanc, western Europe's highest mountain, at around 5pm local time (4pm GMT).
A specialist high mountain search and rescue unit in Chamonix was alerted by a guide at around 5pm, and sent rescue workers and a doctor by helicopter.
But they were unable to save the woman, said Colonel Bertrand Host, of the mountain rescue unit.
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"When we arrived we had to rescue this person but she was in a bad situation and we evacuated her from the valley," he said.
"She was taken charge by rescuers and two dogs but we didn't manage to revive her."
The prosecutor has opened an inquiry into the her death, and ordered a post-mortem.
Colonel Host said there are around 80 fatalities per year on the Mont Blanc massif.
The woman and her partner had been with a high mountain guide and were ascending the Col du Tour Noir when the avalanche occurred, the local public prosecutor's office said.
It confirmed there was an avalanche warning risk of three (on a scale of five) in place today.
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: "We are providing assistance to the family of a British woman who died in France."
