A British man is among six people killed in avalanches in French ski resorts this weekend amid “unstable” conditions in the Alps.
The man, aged about 50, who has not been named, died while skiing off-piste in La Plagne resort.
The resort said that 52 rescue workers accompanied by dogs and a helicopter had been involved in the hunt for the skier after the avalanche alert. He was found after a 50-minute search buried under 2.5 metres of snow and could not be resuscitated.
A 32-year-old ski patroller from Chamonix became the sixth person to die when he was hit by an avalanche in Vallorcine. The father of two was propelled against a tree, suffering fatal injuries according to the Daphiné Libéré, the regional daily.
Earlier, another skier, whose nationality has not been disclosed, died in an avalanche while off-piste in the Courchevel resort. The avalanche was seen by resort ski patrollers who alerted the police High Mountain Rescue Unit. The victim was found buried in snow and pronounced dead at the scene.
On Saturday, two French skiers died in Val-d’Isère when they were engulfed by another avalanche, again while off-piste. Two acquaintances raised the alert after they failed to return from the slopes. Patrollers located the site of the avalanche and called rescue workers who found the victims buried under 2.5 metres of snow. Officials said neither had avalanche transceivers. Their position was discovered through their mobile telephone signals, French media reported.
The fifth death of the weekend occurred on Saturday at the Arêches-Beaufort resort when two off-piste skiers were hit, once more by an avalanche. A ski patroller saw the incident and “heard the screams of a victim of whom only the head was sticking out of the snow,” Jean-Pierre Mirabail, the resort chairman, said. The skier was flown to hospital with serious injuries. But a second person, whose nationality was not disclosed, was pronounced dead at the scene.
A snowboarder was also injured in one avalanche in Tignes and two brothers were caught in another whilst skiing in Oreille, both incidents occurring on Saturday. One of the brothers was hospitalised with serious injuries, the other escaped unharmed.
In a statement, the prefect of the Savoie departement said six avalanches had been registered Sunday before lunchtime.
“The snow cover is unstable and there is a major risk of avalanches….today and in the coming days. For your safety and that of rescue workers, be extremely careful.”
The prefecture, the local interior ministry office, “strongly advised against” off-piste activities.
Jean-Luc Boch, the mayor of La Plagne, said the British victim had been dragged down the slope by the avalanche and had “ended up in a sort of big hole and there was a lot of snow accumulated [over him] in that place. We took a lot of time to find him and to get him out”.
He added: “We have really had very beautiful weather today and that is what is behind these dramas. People do not realise when they see these immaculate mountains and this magnificent snow covering that it can be dangerous. We are afraid for the days to come. We are really afraid that not all the skiers will be careful.”
Boch told France Info radio that conditions were unstable because the “very hard snow that was there before and the fresh snow that has fallen are not sticking together for the moment”.