Warnings ignored Avalanches kill five skiers in the Alps
In France, a group ventures off-piste into the mountains despite an avalanche warning. In Switzerland, too, athletes are swept away by the snow. Another death is reported in Slovakia.
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- Five winter sports enthusiasts die in two avalanches in the Alps.
- In France and Switzerland, masses of snow catch several skiers despite warnings.
- In the High Tatras, a mountaineer dies after an avalanche accident.
In the Alps, a total of five winter sports enthusiasts were killed in two avalanches. In France, three skiers were swept to their deaths. In Switzerland, two people died during a ski hike. Away from the Alps, there was an avalanche accident in Slovakia with another fatality.
The three people who died in the French Alps were part of a group of six skiers who were accompanied by a ski instructor off-piste and were caught in the masses of snow, according to the winter sports resort of Val d'Isère. The identity and nationality of the victims were not initially known. The group had the obligatory safety equipment, but had set off despite a warning of increased avalanche danger, it said.
As a result of the storm "Nils", the storm warning level orange or red was still in force in 25 departments in the southwest of France. In the mountains, the authorities explicitly warned of a high risk of avalanches.
The prefecture of Savoie, where the accident occurred, had called on the population to exercise the utmost caution and follow the safety recommendations the day before. Several roads in the region were closed due to the risk of avalanches. In Tignes, the neighboring village of Val d'Isère, there was even a complete curfew on Friday night, as the danger of avalanches was considered to be so high.
More deaths in Switzerland and Slovakia
Three winter sports enthusiasts were caught in an avalanche while skiing near the Swiss municipality of Airolo, according to the police in the canton of Ticino. Two of them died, the third person was uninjured. The identity of the victims has not yet been released.
In the Slovakian High Tatras, a mountaineer was buried by a snow avalanche. According to the mountain rescue service, the 32-year-old Czech was rescued alive from the masses of snow. However, he died during the helicopter flight to the nearest hospital.