5 skiers killed in French Alps avalanches

Five skiers, including four Norwegians and one Swiss, died in avalanches in the French Alps after off-piste snowslides hit Savoie and Haute-Savoie regions.

Avalanches in the French Alps have resulted in the deaths of five skiers, including four Norwegians and one Swiss national, following snowslides in the Savoie and Haute-Savoie regions.

According to French newspaper Le Parisien, four Norwegian skiers were caught in a large avalanche while ski touring in Val-Cenis, near the Italian border. Officials in Savoie reported that three died at the scene, while a fourth, a woman, later died from her injuries at a hospital in Grenoble after experiencing cardiorespiratory arrest and severe hypothermia. Three others in the group survived without injuries.

Val-Cenis Mayor Jacques Arnoux described the avalanche as "of great size" and noted that it occurred outside the designated ski area. All members of the group were equipped with avalanche beacons, and a team of 10 high-mountain rescue specialists participated in the recovery operation, according to police sources.

In a separate incident in Haute-Savoie, a 30-year-old Swiss woman died in an avalanche while skiing off-piste on the north face of the Aiguillette des Posettes in the Mont Blanc massif. Her father escaped unharmed, while her brother was hospitalized for evaluation, as stated by the Bonneville prosecutor’s office.

Authorities confirmed that the group had been using transceivers and anti-avalanche airbags at the time of the accident.

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