Avalanche
Two skiers were killed by an avalanche that occurred Saturday morning in the Valle d’Aosta region of Italy, local media reported. A third skier was lucky enough to escape the avalanche, Valle d’Aosta Mountain Rescue (SAV) official Paolo Comune told RAI News 24 public broadcaster.
“The two skiers were off-piste, meaning that they were in an area that had not been mapped or cleared for skiing,” Comune added.
Ski instructor Edoardo Camardella, 28, and Luca Martini, 32 were both carried over 1,000-feet by the huge slide.
The group was at 9,800-feet in a popular area on Mount Helbronner, in the Mont Blanc massif on the border of Italy and France.
A video of the Mountain Rescue helicopter reaching the area where the avalanche occurred was posted to Facebook.
Officials had warned of the danger of avalanches in the area on Saturday.
“The chief danger is the presence of slabs of snow above an altitude of 2,000 meters, which can detach at the passage of even a single skier or excursionist,” according to the Valle d’Aosta region’s official website. “The size and number of these slabs of snow increase with altitude.”
The avalanche took place below the third and last stop on the SkyWay cableway, which is located at an altitude of 11,370-feet.
