Millionaire British skier who died in avalanche was wearing a safety airbag
A BRITISH millionaire died after being slammed into a tree by a 45ft-wide avalanche while skiing in the Italian Alps.
Graeme Porteous, a friend of former England rugby captain Lawrence Dallaglio, was off-piste with a group of friends on the final day of a holiday on Saturday.
The father- of-three died after being propelled into a pine tree in a wooded area of Argentera in Piedmont, near the French border. He was wearing a backpack fitted with airbags which are meant to inflate during an avalanche to prevent skiers being buried.
Last night devastated relatives described his death as a ‘tragedy’ and said his ‘heartbroken’ wife, Alexandra – who has flown to Italy – had not been able to break the news to their children yet.
Italian officials said that by going off-piste in fresh snow, Mr Porteous, 48, and his friends may have ‘provoked the avalanche’, something his family angrily denies.
Police captain Giuseppe La Torre said: ‘The group were skiing offpiste at a height of about 6,500ft when there was an avalanche.
‘The ice and snow hit Mr Porte- ous at high speed, causing him to collide with a tree. He immediately lost consciousness. None of the rest of the group remained under the avalanche and none of them were injured. Some of the group’s airbags opened and we are investigating to see if the victim’s airbag opened. We are investigating to see whether the group themselves caused the avalanche or if it was caused by other skiers.’
Mr Porteous’s mother-in-law, Pam Wright, said: ‘The authorities are just trying to shift the blame. The party are all husbands and family men. There is no way on earth they would have gone on to that slope if they were alerted to any risk. My son-in-law was an extremely responsible, well-loved family man. He would not have risked his life if he had known there was going to be an avalanche.
‘Graeme was on the outside of the skiers and more in the path of the avalanche. The trees broke the fall of the others but the avalanche took him and swept him down the mountain. He was going very fast indeed when he hit the bottom.’
Mrs Wright said the couple had three children – Oliver, 11, Charlotte, eight, and Josh, six.
Mr Porteous ran his own investment business from his £5.8 million home in Wimbledon, south-west London. He was a former rugby player at London Scottish who became chairman of Dallaglio’s charity Rugby For Change, which helps marginalised youngsters rebuild their lives through sport.
Rachel Roxburgh, of the Dallaglio Foundation, said: ‘Graeme has helped leave a real lasting legacy. Our thoughts go out to his family at this truly sad time.’
Avalanche airbags, which inflate at the pull of a cord, are designed to make skiers larger so that they rise to the surface.
Most are fitted into backpacks and cost between £550 and £650.