A pisteur-artificier was killed at Tignes on Monday morning when he was caught by an avalanche on a slope he had just tried to clear with explosive. The victim was 27 years old, married and came from the Gard department.
The accident occurred at 8.45am, just before the pistes opened at 2,500 meters altitude in the couloir du télégraphe.
Two pisteurs had tried unsuccessfully to blow the avalanche that threatened the piste below using explosive. One of the pisteurs descended to the side of the area to work out what had gone wrong, his colleague, who had remained where he was, possibly advanced a little and was then caught by the slide.
The unfortunate pisteur was carried 500 meters and was thrown against a number of rocks, he had many and various injuries. Despite the prompt arrival of the rescue team the man died before he could be dug-out.