Avalanches: One Dead and One Wounded in the Pyrenees, a Missing Person in the Alps

A skier was killed Tuesday and another injured in the Hautes-Pyrenees after avalanches have also hit the Alps, where a Briton was missing.

A skier was killed Tuesday and another injured in the Hautes-Pyrenees after avalanches have also hit the Alps , where a Briton has been missing since Sunday , we have learned from rescue services.

In the Hautes-Pyrénées, the accident occurred in the town of Aragnouet on the slopes of the mountain of Pique Poque at 1,600 m altitude shortly after 3pm, according to the commander of the High Mountain Gendarmerie platoon (PGHM ) department.

In this area away from the slopes, two hikers returning to their vehicle when a snow slide buried one who was skiing well ahead of his comrade. The latter saw the scene and could qu’alerter relief, told AFP the captain Jean-Marc Bougy.

The buried skier was quickly located but when extracted, the doctor could only record the death, the official added PGHM the Hautes-Pyrenees.

A missing mountain

Shortly before that, at 2.30pm, in the sector Ilhéou, town of Cauterets (Hautes-Pyrénées), a skier who was returning to his car with a friend in this mountainous area had been “pushed” by a casting snow and hurt, Bougy said the captain.

According to the officer, the casting had been “favored” by one of two skiers who had cut slopes.

In the Eastern Pyrenees , a man was also reported missing since Saturday while on a skiing output, according to the CRS mountain.

This is a “seasoned mountain” of sixty years originated in Agde (Hérault), told AFP Simon Egler captain Mountain CRS detachment of Perpignan.

Arrived with a friend at the top of the peak Mortars , at 2,600 meters, the man who knew the area and is equipped with an avalanche detector (DVA), disappeared while trying to retrieve a ski which had slipped on a “steep” slope.

In the Alps, the snowfall stopped Tuesday afternoon, for lifting the orange alert for avalanches in the Alpes-Maritimes and Savoy.

Savoy was placed Monday until Tuesday morning, in red alert for avalanches.

1.80 Fresh Snow

In 36 hours Savoy, he fell about 1.50 to 1.80 m of snow in Haute-Maurienne and 1.20 m to 1.70 m in the south of the Haute-Tarentaise , as well as in the east the Queyras (Hautes-Alpes) ; 70cm on Mercantour in the Alpes-Maritimes .

In Tignes, a British skier of 39 years disappeared late Sunday afternoon after having wanted to “make a final track,” according to the police Albertville.

The weather conditions “appalling” had failed since to undertake research. But a helicopter could take off early Tuesday afternoon. Around 3:00 p.m., he was flying over the area encompassing the ski slopes and off-piste, where his cell phone was geolocated one last time, according to investigators.

In Haute-Savoie, a casting on the town of Les Houches was stopped by the avalanche and caused no casualties. “Breath” hit “30-40 chalets neighboring villages” and caused material damage, according to the prefecture.

On the Italian side of the Alps, which also received up to 2 meters of snow, an avalanche hit at night on a building in Sestriere, causing no injuries. The 29 occupants were evacuated. But a 70 year old woman died in the night after discomfort.

In Switzerland , some 13,000 tourists were stranded in Zermatt because of the snow.

Furthermore, two people are still missing in Haute-Marne and Paris after the passage of Eleanor storm, which killed six people last week in which a volunteer firefighter for 64 years, for which a national tribute was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon in Savoie in the presence of Interior Minister Gerard Collomb.