Fatal Avalanches in the Alps
26th December 2024
Last modified on December 29th, 2024
There have been avalanche fatalities in Austria, France, Italy and Switzerland. Eight people have died in six separate incidents following heavy snow & high winds. UPDATED
In the latest incident in France a 44-year-old French woman died on Saturday December 28th in the ski area of La Norma in Upper Maurienne.
Two others survived.
The victim was not wearing an avalanche transceiver and was buried in over 1m of snow.
Rescuers located her with a probe search after using a Recco to find her body.
It follows the death of a 14-year old boy in Les Arcs who was caught in an avalanche while skiing with his family.
The avalanche in Les Arcs in France was spotted in by a ski instructor who alerted the authorities.
The rescue services, including two dog teams, were on the scene quickly.
The victim was not wearing an avalanche transceiver, but within twenty minutes of the avalanche the rescuers located the boy after a probe search.
The teenager was airlifted to hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The risk at the time was at Level 3 on a scale of 5, meaning there was “considerable” danger.
It is believed that the avalanche was triggered by a skier above the family.
Here is the scene of the accident:
« Un gamin si jeune qui meurt, c’est affreux » : les skieurs sous le choc après l’avalanche mortelle aux Arcs
➡️ https://t.co/xl1twC7Xiv pic.twitter.com/uIECG8so7z— Le Parisien (@le_Parisien) December 26, 2024
Also on Xmas Day two teenagers aged 12 and 17 who were skiing off-piste with their father in nearby Val d’Isère were also swept away and injured by an avalanche.
There are reports of several other avalanches in the Savoie area in France with no serious injuries.
In Austria a 51-year-old man his 22-year old died in an avalanche on Rosskopf mountain.
Another son and a family friend narrowly escaped.
A group of four, a father, his two sons and a friend of the family, had set out from Schwendberg near Hippach, bound for the Rosskopf mountain peak on an off piste tour.
Police said in a statement that just before noon the group of four was trying to descend a steep eastern peak in single file.
During the descent, “a huge slab of snow broke loose and swept the 51-year-old father and his 22-year-old son about 300 meters away, burying them both completely,” police said.
The others alerted the authorities.
A major rescue operation followed involving two rescue helicopters, dog handlers, 33 mountain rescuers and two Alpine police officers.
Around an hour after the avalanche, the 22-year-old son was located beneath 2m of snow, but could not be resuscitated.
The father was uncovered around 20 minutes later under 1m of snow.
Both victims were airlifted to Mayrhofen, where they were officially pronounced dead.
The surviving members of the group are receiving support from the crisis intervention team.
The avalanche risk was at Level 3 on a scale of 5, meaning there was “considerable” risk.
Avalanche risk in Switzerland. Image c/o Swiss Avalanche Institute
In Switzerland an avalanche has killed an off piste skier in southwestern Switzerland, police said on Saturday.The avalanche occurred on Friday as two skiers made their way along the Cheilon glacier near Arolla.
“Suddenly, the snow mass gave way under the skis of one of them. He was carried by the avalanche to the bottom of the slope,” said a statement from local police.
Rescue teams located the victim under the snow.
“They resuscitated him before transporting the man to Sion hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The deceased is a 27-year-old Swiss man.”
The avalanche risk in the area at the time was at Level 3.
Earlier in the week the Swiss Olympic snowboarder, Sophie Hediger, died in an avalanche in Arosa:
In Italy the bodies of two Italian climbers have been found in the Gran Sasso massif.
Rescue teams supported by a helicopter managed to reach the location on Friday where the two men went missing in the central Abruzzo region.
The two Italian men, aged 41 and 48, were hit by an avalanche last weekend while climbing at an altitude of 2,500m.
The men were able to make an emergency call, but assistance arrived too late.
The search was hampered by freezing temperatures, heavy snowfall and wind gusts of more than 100km/h.
The authorities are urging extreme caution after the recent heavy snowfalls:
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