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An instructor who was supervising two British skiers allegedly ignored safety warnings before an avalanche which killed them.
The pair and a French man died on Friday after being swept away by the avalanche while skiing in an off-piste area in the French Alps ski resort of Val d’Isere.
Emergency services responded quickly but could not prevent the deaths. They said all of the victims had avalanche transceivers.
The deaths followed a rare, day-long red alert across the south-eastern Savoie region on Thursday – a danger level issued only twice before, since the system was introduced 25 years ago.
The freelance instructor was unharmed and prosecutors have opened a manslaughter investigation into the deaths.
Skiers are warned against going off-piste when the avalanche danger level is above tier three.
The area had been issued a tier four warning when they took to the slopes. A day earlier the avalanche risk level was at five out of five – the first time in 17 years.
‘We can’t prevent people from going off piste,’ Cédric Bonnevie, the piste director, said.
The avalanche in Val d’Isere swept away six skiers in an off-piste area of the slopes, killing one French national and the two Britons, as red alerts were issued across the Alps
The two Britons killed were part of a group of four skiers accompanied by a professional instructor and were skiing off-piste at the time. Pictured: A stock image of Val-d’Isere
‘We can’t hold everyone’s hand and there isn’t much we can do unless we close the slopes, which we don’t normally want to do.’
A third British citizen also suffered minor injuries from the avalanche on Friday, while a further two off-piste skiers died in an avalanche in the Courmayeur resort in Italy on Sunday.
Adrienne, 43, a professional skier at Val d’Isere, told The Times: ‘No one here understands why the instructor went off-piste and everyone thinks it was irresponsible.
‘I know that some instructors refused to take their groups out on Friday. The customers weren’t happy but it’s the price you pay for safety.’
Another skier, Jean-Louis, 42, added: ‘We get warnings almost every weekend. We’re told to be careful and now there’s a debate about whether off-piste skiing should be banned.
‘Personally, I think everyone has to take responsibility for themselves.’
The red alert which had been in place was lifted on Friday in Savoie but the risk level remained high across the Alps, with ‘very unstable snow cover’, especially above 1,800 to 2,000 metres altitude, according to the Meteo France weather service.
Storm Nils, which passed through France on Thursday, dumped 60-100 centimetres of snow.
The two Britons killed were part of a group of four skiers accompanied by a professional instructor and were skiing off-piste at the time.
All were equipped with avalanche safety gear, including transceivers, shovels and probes, according to the resort.
The public prosecutor, Benoit Bachelet, said alcohol and drug tests carried out on the instructor were negative.
The other two were among a group of five, including a professional guide, further down the mountain face and did not see the avalanche coming.
It was not clear what caused the avalanche, Mr Bonnevie said.
Last month, a British man was among six skiers killed in avalanches in the French Alps.
The Englishman, believed to be in his 50s, was skiing off-piste at the La Plagne resort in the south-east of France.
Rescue teams received an avalanche alert at 1.57pm on January 11 and immediately went to the site.
A team of more than 50 people, including medics, ski school instructors and a helicopter-deployed piste dog, were called in.
The man was located after 50 minutes, buried under eight feet of snow, but could not be revived.
He was with a group when the avalanche struck, but was not equipped with an avalanche transceiver and was not with a professional instructor.
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