Avalanche leaves at least one dead and four injured in Mont Blanc massif

The tragedy took place on the night of Sunday to Monday after the fall of seracs, large blocks of ice.

An avalanche left at least one dead and four injured in the Mont Blanc massif (Haute-Savoie) on the night of Sunday to Monday August 5, France Bleu Pays de Savoie learned from the Haute-Savoie prefecture and the Chamonix high mountain gendarmerie platoon (PGHM).

It is the fall of seracs, of large blocks of ice, which caused an avalanche around 3 a.m. on the north face of Mont-Blanc du Tacul, one of the ascent routes, at an altitude of 4,100 meters, taking several people.Several roped groups of climbers were moving nearby, causing 15 people to be involved in this event.“, indicates the prefecture, which adds in a press release that according to “The first information gathered suggests that the origin of the serac fall was natural.“.

According to France Bleu Pays de Savoie, the roped parties were not supervised by guides. The climbers involved are of French, Swiss and Spanish nationality. Two roped parties were caught in the avalanche.

A major search and rescue operation has been deployed with the participation of civil security, the departmental fire and rescue service (Sdis) and the emergency medical aid service (Samu). It is commanded by the high mountain gendarmerie platoon (PGHM), under the supervision of the prefect of Haute-Savoie.

Helicopters from the national gendarmerie and civil protection are flying over the area. Around thirty rescuers, including 23 gendarmes from the PGHM of Chamonix, the Choucas 74 helicopter from the gendarmerie, two dog teams from the Sdis and firefighters from the mountain group (GMSP) are mobilized, specifies France Bleu Pays de Savoie.

Among the 15 climbers involved, the provisional report states that one victim died, a Frenchman in his sixties. Four other people were injured, one of them seriously, she is currently in intensive care. The victims were taken to hospitals in Sallanches and Annecy. Ten other climbers who were nearby escaped unharmed.

But at 11am, search operations were still underway for a second doubt removal on the avalanche site, to find possible other victims. An investigation to find the causes of death was opened by the Bonneville prosecutor’s office. A crisis PC was opened within the PGHM of Chamonix, France Bleu Pays de Savoie learned.