British mother, 54, and son, 22, killed in French Alps avalanche after being swept away while skiing
29 December 2023, 14:47
A British mother and son have been killed in an avalanche while skiing in the French Alps.
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The avalanche swept through an off-piste area of the Saint-Gervais-les-Bains ski resort on Thursday afternoon at an altitude of 7,545ft.
The two victims were found buried and deceased after around five hours of searching by 20 first responders and two helicopters, local media reported.
They were understood to have been caught up in the avalanche with three other relatives.
Another skier, believed to be an instructor, has been left injured and a hiker was killed in a separate area after the avalanche on Mont Blanc.
Dozens of mountain rescuers set out to search for skiers who were trapped.
An investigation has since been opened into the cause of the avalanche.
An FCDO spokesperson said: "We are supporting the family of two British people who died in France and are in contact with the local authorities."
Saint-Gervais Mayor Jean-Marc Peillex said the weather conditions were too unstable for such risky outings.
"It rained, it snowed, it was warm. There are enough marked paths to ski on," he told BFM television.
"It's terrible what happened. A family is decimated, and we are very sad in Saint-Gervais."
To the north, a 31-year-old hiker was found dead after falling on the slope of the Ecrins mountain range.
The hiker had veered away from hiking paths to look at mountain goats with a friend, local broadcaster France-Bleu cited rescuers as saying.
A spokesperson from the Haute-Savoie regional government said: "An avalanche 400m long occurred this Thursday, December 28, 2023 at 3.30pm, in the off-piste area, at an altitude of 2,300 meters and near the Mont-Joly chairlift located in the Mont-Joly ski area. Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, involving eight people.
"A major search and rescue system was immediately deployed by the emergency services. slopes of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, reinforced and commanded by the high-level gendarmerie platoon mountain (PGHM) of Chamonix.
"The final report shows two victims dead, one lightly injured and five other people unhurt.
"Yves LE BRETON, prefect of Haute-Savoie would like to send his sincere condolences to the loved ones of the victims and his thoughts to those involved in this avalanche.
"He also thanks all the personnel who made it possible to carry out the search operations."
