A British man has died after an avalanche on Thursday at a popular ski resort in France, reports The Times.
The man, who has not yet been named, is believed to have been a 27-year-old Briton skiing in the Val Thorens resort in the French Alps. He was taken to hospital in Grenoble in a critical condition on Thursday, after being swept 15 metres down a slope.
He was buried under the snow before being dug out by rescue workers. According to local media there was only one person injured in the avalanche and the victim suffered a cardiac arrest after being buried under the snow. Benoît Bachelet, the state prosecutor, said he was pronounced dead overnight.
The area was hit on Thursday morning by a series of avalanches, forcing authorities to close the slopes and warn residents to stay inside secure buildings. Meteorologists said the region registered the biggest snowfalls ever for this time of year. In some parts of the Alps more than a metre of snow fell in a matter of hours, causing turmoil.
Ludovic Trautmann, chief of staff at the prefecture in the Haute-Savoie département, said there had been four avalanches in Menuires and Val Thorens, “including two that reached the centre” of the resort. Although less snow was falling on Friday, officials said the risk of further avalanches remained high and called on locals and tourists to avoid off-piste skiing. “Considering the conditions … we call for the greatest caution,” Trautmann said.
Le Dauphiné Libéré, the regional daily newspaper, said there had been “massive chaos in Chamonix Valley” on Thursday when the resorts of Tignes, Val Thorens and Val-d’Isère ordered locals and tourists to stay indoors.
Read more of this report from The Times.