Two skiers part of two seperate ski touring groups, have been injured by an avalanche in the Hautes-Alpes. The avalanche occured shortly before 13h00 at 2200 meters altitude on the west side of the Grand Peygue in the commune of Cervières. A first group of skiers triggered a slab measuring 50m across. A member of this group received leg injuries. The slide then hit a second group of 11 skiers completely burying one of the group. Quickly rescued thanks to his avalanche beacon the victim, a gendarme, was also suffering from leg injuries. Both were transported to hospital by the PGHM from Briançon. All the skiers were local to the area.
The avalanche risk was between 2 and 3 in the sector. The principal danger being fresh snow which had formed a few thin soft slabs on lee slopes; sometimes resting on a weak layer of graupel that fell at the start of the recent snowfall. There was also a risk of large slabs sitting on a more deeply buried weak layer but principally on North to East slope aspects.