Two British skiers – identified as a mother and son – are believed to be dead after an avalanche was triggered on Mont Blanc in the French Alps on Thursday, according to several sources.
A 54-year-old woman and her 22-year-old son were skiing outside the marked boundaries of the ski resort when the avalanche hit around 3:30 p.m. local time, reports the BBC. Another skier was also injured by the avalanche, the Associated Press reports.
According to the BBC, the mother and son were part of a group of five who were on the mountain with a guide. Only the guide was carrying an avalanche locator.
“We are supporting the family of two Britons who died in France and are in contact with the local authorities,” the British Foreign Office told AP.
Avalanche warning sign in the European Alps. George Clerk / Getty Images Skier suffers life-threatening leg injury after triggering avalanche on Mount Washington
The avalanche started near the resort of Saint-Gervais at an altitude of about 2,300 meters (7,546 feet) and then moved about 400 meters (1,213 feet) down the mountain, according to the sources.
Karline Bouisset, a prosecutor in the Haute-Savoie region of France, told the BBC that about 20 emergency responders and two helicopters responded to the scene and after about five hours of searching, they finally found the couple “buried” in the snow and “deceased.”
The Haute-Savoie regional authority, which oversees the area, said in a statement to the AP that they had rescued five more people from the avalanche.
A man whose family says he was ‘born to ski’ and a native of Budapest died in an avalanche in the second Kol.
The avalanche may have been triggered by other skiers who were at a higher altitude at the time, writes the BBC. The administration of the Haute-Savoie region told AP that they have opened an investigation into the cause of the avalanche.
The mayor of Saint-Gervais, Jean-Marc Peillex, told BFM television, to AP, that the weather conditions that day were unfavorable, especially for trips outside the marked ski slopes.
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“It rained, it snowed, it was warm. There are enough marked trails for skiing,” said Peillex. “What happened is terrible. The family is decimated, and we are very sad in Saint-Gervais.”
Earlier this month, a New Hampshire skier suffered a life-threatening leg injury after triggering an avalanche on Mount Washington while skiing in an area of the mountain called Airplane Gully.
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Source: HIS Education