one person died in an avalanche in an off-piste area in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc

One person died in an avalanche in the off-piste area in the Chamonix-Mont-Blanc area in the Tour sector, Saturday January 20, shortly before 2 p.m., announced the Haute-Savoie prefecture. There was also one minor injury and two people who escaped unhurt.

The avalanche, around thirty meters wide, was triggered at a place called “Les Grossailles”. “A major search and rescue system was immediately deployed”says the prefecture. “There are five gendarmes from the PGHM of Chamonix, five first aid ski patrollers from the ski area, an emergency doctor from the SAMU 74, four dog teams, making a total of eleven people who were mobilized on the ground, supported by a helicopter from the air section gendarmerie and a helicopter from the company CMBH”she explains.

An investigation has been opened by the Bonneville public prosecutor’s office to determine the exact circumstances of this accident. The prefecture reminds that the risk of avalanche remains high (3/5) on Sunday at altitude on the Aravis, Chablais and Mont-Blanc massifs.