Five Norwegian and Swiss skiers killed by avalanches in French Alps
Five Norwegian and Swiss skiers killed by avalanches in French Alps
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Authorities had issued avalanche warnings in several Alpine regions. Four Norwegians and a Swiss woman were reportedly killed in avalanches while skiing off-piste in the French Alps on Wednesday. The Norwegians were part of a group of seven that was swept away by an avalanche in Val-Cenis in the southeastern Savoie region near the Italian border.
Three of the skiers died on the spot while a woman was injured. She was airlifted to the Grenoble hospital where she later died. She had reportedly suffered cardiac arrest and hypothermia. The other three people in the group escaped unhurt. They were carrying avalanche beacons that helped a rescue team spot them.
Jacques Arnoux, the mayor of Val-Cenis, told AFP the Norwegians were hit by “an extremely big avalanche that was triggered outside the ski area”. In a separate incident, a Swiss woman, 30, died in an avalanche near Chamonix. She had been skiing off-piste on the north face of the Aiguillette des Posettes in the Mont Blanc massif with her brother and father.
Her brother was injured but the father escaped unhurt. French authorities had issued avalanche warnings across several Alpine regions, urging caution owing to unstable snow conditions. “On account of the instability of the snow, skiers and hikers must follow instructions given by resorts and the emergency services,” Haute-Savoie authorities said.
