Two separate avalanches kill at least 3 and injure 4 at tourist hot spot

Three people have died and four others were injured after two separate avalanches struck the French Alps on Tuesday.

Around midday, a large slide, 300 metres wide, engulfed a road and footpath in Valloire, southeast France.

Rescue teams, including mountain police, firefighters, dog units, and army specialists, were deployed for over four hours.

Operations were eventually halted due to the persistent risk of further avalanches. Two of the injured were in serious condition and airlifted to nearby hospitals.

Separately, French broadcaster BFMTV reported that two skiers died earlier in an off-piste avalanche in La Grave, in the neighbouring Hautes-Alpes region, according to the Gap prosecutor.

The fatalities come as France contends with heavy snowfall across the Alps and widespread flooding in its western regions after days of intense rainfall.

Météo France had issued an orange avalanche alert for Savoie on Tuesday, though an improvement is anticipated. This latest tragedy follows another fatal avalanche last Friday, which claimed the lives of three skiers in the upscale resort of Val d’Isere.

A British skier killed in an avalanche in the French Alps has been named after a manslaughter investigation was opened by authorities.

Stuart Leslie was in a group of four skiing off-piste in the Val d’Isère ski resort in south-east France when they were swept away by an avalanche late on Friday morning. A second Briton and a French skier also died in the incident.

Their deaths came just a day after the resort had issued a red alert for avalanche risk, which according to Le Monde is only the third time such a warning had been issued in 25 years.

Albertville public prosecutor Benoit Bachelet said in a statement that a manslaughter investigation had now been opened, according to reports. He added that the ski instructor, who was with the group was unharmed and tested negative for drugs and alcohol.