The 36-year-old man, who has been named as James Richard Ryan and is believed to come from Huddersfield, was swept away by tonnes of snow as he skied with a group of five friends and a guide, who were all British. The Foreign Office has confirmed the death, and is providing consular assistance to the family.
Mountain officials say heavy snow in the last few days means there is an increased risk of avalanches, as the fresh falls have not yet had a chance to bind to the mountains. The tragedy happened at Val Di Rhemes near Aosta at an altitude of 2,800 metres on the Mt Rosso mountain, as the group made its way down a run called the Punta Paletta.
The avalanche happened at around 5pm local time and was around 400 metres long and 100 metres wide, engulfing the victim and one of his companions immediately. Rescue teams managed to pull both men alive from the avalanche, but one died en route to the Parini hospital in Aosta.
Mountain rescue commander Delfino Viglione said: ''The group were skiing off piste when the avalanche took place.'' When asked if it had been caused by the group he said: ''That will be a question for the investigating magistrate, who has opened a file and is speaking to the group and the ski guide.''
Across the Italian Alps - which is preparing to welcome holidaymakers on Easter breaks - there was a series of avalanches over the weekend.
On Friday, a Norwegian man was killed at Courmayeur and his companion, who was skiing with him off-piste, has been charged with manslaughter for causing the avalanche. A dozen people have been killed in avalanches in the region this winter, leading officials to consider whether to launch rescue attempts for people who ignored warnings and got caught out.
2 comments:
Post a Comment