Three walkers were caught by an avalanche in the early afternoon today while they were walking to the étang de Fontargente in the French Pyrenees in the Ariège department. One of the walkers, a man aged in his 30s, was partially buried by the slide. His two friends were able to dig him out and alert the rescue services. The man was suffering from pelvic injuries. He was heliported by the mountain rescue (PGHM) to hospital in the val-d'Ariège 

The avalanche was a considerable size, measuring 400 meters and it travelled 300 vertical meters downhill. Local authorities have called for prudence over the coming days given the fresh snow and violent winds in the mountain range.

There has been around 30cm of fresh snow on Monday (9/12/2019) accompanied by strong winds from the north west. The principal danger was on North sector slopes at altitude where there is a weak layer of angular grains.