British Avalanche Victim Dies in Hospital

The British skier who was seriously injured on the 24th of December after being caught in an avalanche in the Mont Blanc massif died of his injuries on Saturday morning in hospital in Sallanches (Haute Savoie).

The avalanche occurred close to the Requin refuge (2,530 meters) on the Vallée Blanche route which links the Aiguille du Midi with Chamonix. The skier, named by the British Foreign offices as Neil Seaton from Northampton, was found in a state of cardiac arrest by rescuers after being deeply buried by a 15 meter wide avalanche caused by a serac fall. His wife and their guide escaped with light injuries. All three were equipped with avalanche transceivers.

Four skiers were killed by serac falls close to the Grand Mullets refuge on the 20th of April of this year. These falls are completely unpredictable and skiers and mountaineers tried to avoid crossing their paths.

Posted by davidof on Saturday, 28 December, 2002 at 08:28 PM