British skier, 50s, killed in avalanche in French Alps

independent.co.uk

A British skier has been killed by an avalanche in the French Alps.

The man, believed to be in his 50s, was skiing off-piste at the La Plagne resort in south-eastern France, the resort said in a statement.

Rescue teams received an avalanche alert at 1.57pm on Sunday and immediately went to the site, the resort said.

A team of around 52 people, including medics, ski school instructors and a helicopter-deployed piste dog, were called in.

The man was found after 50 minutes of searching under 2.5 metres of snow, the resort said.

He was with a group when the avalanche struck, but was not equipped with an avalanche transceiver and was not with a professional instructor, it added.

La Plagne said its thoughts were with the man’s family.