Four killed in Alps avalanche
FOUR people died yesterday after they were buried in a huge avalanche in the French Alps.
The victims – a guide, a father and his step-son and son, were walking off-piste with their snowboards when they were hit by a massive wall of snow in the resort of Tignes.
More than 50 people took part in a frantic search as mountain police were joined by ski monitors, piste workers and other professionals trained in avalanche rescue. Specially trained dog teams were also used.
Authorities have confirmed the deaths of four people. No others are reported missing.
Local official Nicolas Martrenchard said there were “good reasons to believe that there are no other victims”.
The 49-year-old guide, the 48-year-old father, his 15-year-old son and 19-year-old step-son are all thought to be French nationals.
At the time of the avalanche they were traversing the mountain on foot, carrying their snowboards in order to reach an area where they intended to start their descent off-piste.
Initially rescuers believed they were searching for nine people. This was then downgraded to eight after it was confirmed that a girl who had signed up for the lesson was safe.
After pulling the four victims from the avalanche site, rescuers continued to scour the area. But by late afternoon, authorities said they had no reason to believe there were any further fatalities.
Two of the four were pulled alive from the snow but died later, according to local media reports.
There were questions over whether or not the group should have been in the area as there were warnings of a high risk of avalanches at the time.
The avalanche, which struck at 10.35am local time yesterday and measured nearly a third of a milewide at 6,900ft, is said to have been triggered by a group of skiers higher up the slope.
Dangerous
Tignes is popular with British skiers and this week is one of the busiest of the season as it coincides with school holidays in the UK and France. Rescuers were alerted immediately by resort staff and tourists who witnessed the massive slide.
The snowslip happened in an area which has an off-piste sector popular with stronger skiers, which can be seen from the centre of the resort.
One local worker, who did not want to be named, said: “The Lavachet Wall where it happened is a very dangerous bit of offpiste.
“There is a huge trench at the bottom that was dug to protect the town.”
It is thought those who died were part of an off-piste group supervised by a monitor from the national ski school Ecole du Ski Français.
Eight people had registered for the session with an instructor, according to reports.
Vicky Allen, a chalet rep, said: “It’s a very sad day for all of us working in the resort. It’s devastating.”
Richard Miller, an IT consultant from Cambridge, said: “I saw the piste patrol scrambling with dogs so suspected something was happening.”
About 4in of fresh snow fell on the slopes of the resort near the Italian border last week and more is forecast this week.
The avalanche risk had been a three on a scale of five before the incident. Experts said strong winds and warmer temperatures made an avalanche more likely.
Fiona Best, of the Ski Club of Great Britain, described the Lavachet Wall area where the avalanche occurred, as “notorious” and “quite a bit off-piste”.
She said: “It’s known to be a treacherous area to go to and with an avalanche warning of three out of five you would question whether or not you should really be heading over there.
She added of the resort: “Nearly all the British tour operators operate there because there’s a good range of skiing for beginners right the way through to advanced and off-peak skiers.
“It’s very popular with British tourists. I’ve been there for the last four years with my family.”