The two people who died in an avalanche accident in the Mont Blanc massif in eastern France on Thursday were a British mother and her son who were skiing as a family in an off-piste area under the supervision of a ski instructor, the local prosecutor's office said Friday.
The 54-year-old mother and her 22-year-old son were found “buried and dead” during search operations that mobilized about twenty rescuers, two dog teams, a doctor and two helicopters for almost five hours, Karline Bouisset said in a press release, the public prosecutor of Bonneville near Grenoble.
They were swept away by an avalanche that was triggered in the municipality of Saint-Gervais “at an altitude of around 2,300 meters away from the piste,” she said, explaining that the phenomenon could have been caused “by two cross-country skiers.” were upstream.
They were part of a “group of five skiers of English nationality, all from the same family, who were supervised by an independent ski instructor whom they had known for several years,” the prosecutor said.
None of the family members were carrying an avalanche transceiver, the public prosecutor's office noted.
According to local newspaper Le Dauphiné Libéré, only the guide, a teacher from the international ski school, had one. Trapped in the snow, he was quickly removed by the tracking devices using the device and was only slightly injured.
An investigation into “manslaughter” was initiated. According to a press release from the public prosecutor's office, an expert is expected on site on Friday morning and autopsies will take place in Grenoble in the coming days.
According to Météo-France, the Mont Blanc massif is currently at avalanche danger level 2 out of 5, i.e. a limited risk.
According to Météo-France, an average of 110 people are swept away by avalanches every year (31 dead and 26 injured).