Avalanches over the weekend in the French Alps and Austria have killed seven people. Most victims were skiers off the marked pistes. Authorities continue to warn of high avalanche risk.
Several avalanches in ski areas of France and Austria claimed seven lives over the weekend. Three people died already on Saturday in the Savoie region: In Val-d'Isère, two skiers were buried off-piste and recovered dead. In Arêches-Beaufort, another skier succumbed to his injuries, while a second was hospitalized with severe head trauma.
On Sunday, three more skiers perished in France. In La Plagne, a British man around 50 years old was buried under 2.5 meters of snow; despite 52 rescuers, avalanche dogs, and a helicopter, he was found after 50 minutes but could not be revived. In nearby Courchevel, another skier was found dead late morning. Near the Swiss border in Vallorcine, a 32-year-old was hurled against a tree and fatally injured. The regional newspaper Le Dauphiné Libéré also reported injuries in Tignes and Orelle.
The prefect of Savoie, Vanina Nicoli, warned on Facebook: "By 12:30 p.m., rescue services were already responding to six avalanche incidents across various mountain ranges." She urged avoiding off-piste skiing and highlighted the high avalanche danger for the coming days.
In Austria, a 58-year-old woman died in Weerberg, Tyrol, after being swept away by snow; she succumbed to injuries in hospital. Three others were injured in Tyrol, one in critical condition. Two German skiers (aged 55 and 60) survived with injuries in Zürs am Arlberg, and a 17-year-old German near Kitzbühel escaped unharmed from a 350-meter-long avalanche thanks to his avalanche airbag.
Authorities have issued high avalanche warnings for Monday and Tuesday in the French Alps, western Tyrol, and Vorarlberg. The risk has been downgraded to considerable in the Allgäu Alps and Switzerland. Avalanches form from unstable snow layers that can be triggered by minimal loads, as explained by the German Alpine Club.
