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AVALANCHE

Two die in French Alps while setting avalanche control charges

Two employees at a ski resort in the French Alps died on Sunday when the avalanche-control charges they were trying to set accidentally went off, mountain rescue experts said.

Published: 13 January 2019 14:53 CET
Two die in French Alps while setting avalanche control charges
People ski on a slope of the French Alps ski resort of Les Deux Alpes. Photo: JEFF PACHOUD / AFP
The accident took place at an altitude of 1,800 metres (6,000 feet) as the pair from the Morillon ski resort “were working on an avalanche prevention programme”, one of the experts said. 
 
Controlled explosions are carried out before the slopes open to mitigate the risk of larger avalanches. 
 
They were working with the explosives when the accident happened, local police said following an initial investigation. 
 
Forecasters at Meteo France had warned of a high risk of avalanches in the Savoie and Haute-Savoie regions following fresh overnight snowfall.
 
Meanwhile, three German cross-country skiers died and a fourth was reported missing following an avalanche in western Austria, police said. 
 
The bodies of two men aged 32 and 36 and a third aged 56 were found on Saturday evening, with a 28-year-old man still missing, police said.
 
The avalanche came after several days of heavy snowfall which saw the army called in to secure roads and buildings and help with a number of evacuations.

SKI

Dad’s ‘miracle escape’ after being buried by avalanche in French Alps

A man out walking with his family in the French Alps has made a miraculous escape from an avalanche after spending more than two and a half hours trapped under snow, rescuers said.

Published: 29 January 2021 11:46 CET
Dad's 'miracle escape' after being buried by avalanche in French Alps
Ski lifts in France are closed, but visitors and locals are free to enjoy other outdoor sports. Photo: AFP

The 50-year-old father was snowshoeing near the high-altitude Val d'Isere ski resort with his wife and two children on Thursday without anti-avalanche safety equipment.

“Thank to the mobilisation of nearly 100 people… the man was found alive after two hours and 40 minutes of searching,” the police for the local Savoie département announced on Twitter.

Because of the depth of the snow, rescue dogs were unable to detect a trace, but the man was eventually dug out by a specialised mountain police team which used a Wolfhound device to locate his mobile phone under the ice.

“I think it's a miracle,” Alexandre Grether from the PGHM rescue team told the France 3 local news channel, adding that the man was found 2.5 metres (eight feet) below the surface.

The chances of survival after more than 20 minutes in an avalanche are usually slim.

“He was protected by a tree, that's what prevented him from being crushed by all the ice that slid down. The snow had surrounded him, but he had a pocket of air,” he explained.

The victim is expected to make a full recovery after suffering a fracture to his hip.

The avalanche risk on Thursday was at its maximum – five on a scale of five – and rescuers urge people to always check the snow conditions before venturing out.

READ ALSO 'Whole season a write-off' – what next for France's ski resorts?

Ski lifts in the Alps, which have seen some of their heaviest snowfalls in years in January, are currently closed because of restrictions imposed by the government to limit the spread of Covid-19.

Visitors and locals are free to enjoy hiking, cross-country skiing and snow-shoeing, but occupancy levels in hotels and chalets are way down and business owners and seasonal staff face serious hardships.

The government has promised an economic support package for the sector.

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