Avalanche kills British mother, 54, and her son, 22, after they are swept away while off-piste with three relatives and skiing instructor at French resort

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A British woman and her son have been killed in an avalanche while off-piste with three relatives and a skiing instructor at a French resort. 

The avalanche was triggered yesterday afternoon at around 3.40pm near the Mont-Joly chairlift located in the Saint-Gervais-les-Bains ski area. 

The two victims – a 54-year-old British mother and her son, 22 – were found buried and deceased, French media reported. 

They were caught up in the avalanche with three other relatives and were being supervised by a ski instructor they had known for several years. 

Survivors include the woman’s British husband who is yet to be named, along with the rest of the family. 

The instructor, who was the only skier wearing an avalanche victim detector, was found miraculously unharmed despite being completely buried with the two deceased Brits.   

Two British victims of the avalanche were found deceased during a search operation

Two British victims of the avalanche were found deceased during a search operation 

A search operation went underway for the victims of the avalanche

A search operation went underway for the victims of the avalanche 

A British woman and her son have been killed in an avalanche while off-piste at a French resort

A British woman and her son have been killed in an avalanche while off-piste at a French resort

The tragedy happened near the Mont-Joly chairlift located in the Saint-Gervais-les-Bains ski area

The tragedy happened near the Mont-Joly chairlift located in the Saint-Gervais-les-Bains ski area

One source said: ‘Three out of the eight skiers were buried in the snow, and a search party was mobilised very quickly after an emergency alarm.

‘The instructor was detected and pulled out, but the man and woman who were buried perished, following a far more complex and long search.’

The source added: ‘The initial theory is that another party of skiers higher up triggered the avalanche.’

Public prosecutors at Bonneville confirmed that a criminal investigation had since been launched, with judicial police investigating on site. 

The shocking ordeal happened in an off-piste section of the French resort at an altitude of 7,545ft, the administration for the Haute-Savoie region said – with the flow of the avalanche thought to have travelled 400 metres. 

Dozens of mountain rescuers set out to search for skiers who were trapped, finding a man and woman dead and a third person injured. Five other people were rescued.

Alexandre Merlin, director of the Saint Gervais led Bains ski area told MailOnline: ‘The snow conditions are very unstable, it’s difficult to know what will hold or not, the snow cover is not compacted and it is rather dangerous to go out.

‘Overall, you shouldn’t go off the slopes, we have little snow, the slopes are well maintained, but outside, there are stones, and there can be unstable areas.’

Saint-Gervais Mayor Jean-Marc Peillex said the weather conditions were too unstable for such risky outings.

The ordeal happened in an off-piste section of the French resort at an altitude of 7,545ft

The ordeal happened in an off-piste section of the French resort at an altitude of 7,545ft

The two victims - a 54-year-old British mother and her son, 22 - were found buried and deceased

The two victims – a 54-year-old British mother and her son, 22 – were found buried and deceased

‘It rained, it snowed, it was warm. There are enough marked paths to ski on,’ he told BFM television.

‘It’s terrible what happened. A family is decimated, and we are very sad in Saint-Gervais.’

A spokesperson from the Haute-Savoie regional government said: ‘An avalanche 400m long occurred this Thursday, December 28, 2023 at 3.30pm, in the off-piste area, at an altitude of 2,300 meters and near the Mont-Joly chairlift located in the Mont-Joly ski area. Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, involving eight people.

‘A major search and rescue system was immediately deployed by the emergency services. slopes of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, reinforced and commanded by the high-level gendarmerie platoon mountain (PGHM) of Chamonix.

‘The final report shows two victims dead, one lightly injured and five other people unhurt.

‘Yves Le Breton, prefect of Haute-Savoie would like to send his sincere condolences to the loved ones of the victims and his thoughts to those involved in this avalanche. He also thanks all the personnel who made it possible to carry out the search operations.’

Jean-Luc Boch, the president of the Association of Mountain Station Mayors, told FrenchInfo: ‘Zero risk doesn’t exist off-piste. There is a risk and that risk exists even if you are accompanied by professionals, by guides, by ski instructors … there is always a risk weighing over you. Never forget that in the mountains security is the most important thing and you have to be extremely careful.’ 

He confirmed that ‘the victims were outside the marked trails, off-piste’, adding ‘that is never something certified even with professional supervision, it can be complicated or even dramatic’. 

There was another Alpine fatality on the same day when a 31-year-old man fell 500 metres from a rocky ridge in Chantepérier, in the Ecrins Massif.