French Alps: Avalanches in the French Alps have claimed the lives of five skiers, including four Norwegians and one Swiss, after off-piste snow slides hit the Savoie and Haute-Savoie regions. The tragedies occurred as skiers ventured beyond marked trails in the picturesque yet perilous alpine landscape.

According to Anadolu Agency, in Val-Cenis, near the Italian border, four Norwegian skiers were caught in a massive avalanche while ski touring. The incident, reported by French daily Le Parisien, resulted in the immediate deaths of three individuals at the scene. A fourth skier, a woman, succumbed to her injuries at a hospital in Grenoble after experiencing cardiorespiratory arrest and severe hypothermia. Fortunately, three others in the group survived without injury.

Val-Cenis Mayor Jacques Arnoux described the avalanche as being of significant size and noted that it was triggered outside the designated ski area. All members of the group were equipped with avalanche beacons, and a team of ten high-mountain rescue specialists was involved in the recovery operation, according to police sources.

In a separate incident in Haute-Savoie, a 30-year-old Swiss woman was killed by an avalanche while skiing off-piste on the north face of the Aiguillette des Posettes in the Mont Blanc massif. Her father emerged unharmed, while her brother was taken to the hospital for evaluation, as reported by the Bonneville prosecutor’s office.

Authorities noted that the trio had been equipped with transceivers and anti-avalanche airbags at the time of the accident. The incidents underscore the inherent risks of off-piste skiing in the region, despite the use of safety equipment.