Serious Avalanche at Tignes

A 22 year old British national was hit by an avalanche while snowboarding at Tignes yesterday. The man was found in a state of cardiac arrest by an avalanche dog after 30 minutes under the slide. Rescue workers administered emergency resuscitation on the scene and the victim was taken by helicopter to hospital in Grenoble where he later succumed to his injuries. The accident occurred on a North facing slope at around 2500 meters altitude in the Palafour sector of Tignes. The man, who was found under 1.5 meters of snow, was boarding with his brother at the time.

The avalanche risk was 3 (considerable) on a scale of 5 yesterday. Around 20 cm of fresh snow had fallen over Friday night accompanied by strong winds from the West to North. Météo France has advised backcountry travellers to exercise extreme care especially above 2000 meters on slopes exposed North, East to South and close to ridgelines where new snowslabs have formed under the action of the wind.

Source: ph, additional reporting from: http://www.henrysavalanchetalk.com/

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