Chamonix avalanche alert after British woman killed

A BRITISH woman died after being caught in an avalanche as she was hiking on Mont Blanc, rescue services said yesterday.

The 45-year-old was with her partner and a guide in the Chamonix Valley. The other two were unharmed. They were on the Argentiere Glacier when tragedy struck at around 5.30pm on Saturday.

The woman was found buried under the snow but rescue services arrived too late to save her.

Despite intervention from the emergency services “the person unfortunately died” according to the mountain police.

Police have ordered an investigation into the accident and a post-mortem examination.

A second avalanche was reported yesterday in the Brevent ski area, also in the Chamonix Valley. Witnesses said the avalanche, which happened in the early afternoon, hit a ski run.

The mountain was closed and rescuers were combing the area for possible victims. Ski instructors in the valley were called to help with the operation.

One witness said: “There was a woman caught up to her hips in the slide. A search was started by skiers and snowboarders. Then the experts took over.”

European ski resorts had a poor start to the ski season. During the New Year period, half of the pistes were closed in the French Alps.

However, fresh snowfall during the past week and a further forecast of more than 70cm of snow at 2,000m yesterday and today has put Chamonix on alert.

The avalanche warning level was at three out of five yesterday, meaning “considerable” risk.

Avalanche Academy, a safety school in Chamonix, urged winter sports enthusiasts to take precautions: “There’s a huge amount of snow coming to Chamonix this week, which means the avalanche hazard is going to increase dramatically.”