Snowboarder killed in Val Thorens avalanche
32 year old swept away by off-piste avalanche, Val Thorens
On Tuesday afternoon a 32 year old snowboarder was killed off-piste in Val Thorens when his was buried by an avalanche.
The man was with a group of three snowboarders who had hiked up the Mont du Borgne, on the Saint Martin de Belleville side of the valley when the tragic accident happened.
At around 7 pm the snowboarder was swept away from the rest of the group by a huge avalanche measuring 100 metres wide by 300 metres long.
The alert was given to the mountain rescue services who, once on the scene, used avalanche trained sniffer dogs to locate the man. The rescue team dug the victim out of the avalanche just before nightfall and performed emergency CPR but the man could not be revived and was pronounced dead.
The chief of PGHM Savoie (mountain rescue) made the following statement: "With the recent snowfall and the noticeable temperature differences, the snow pack is not stable. It is very important to be careful even at this stage of the season."
The current Val Thorens avalanche risk is 3 out 5.
