Third British skier killed in French Alps avalanche
- - Third British skier killed in French Alps avalanche
Chanel ZagonFebruary 18, 2026 at 5:10 AM
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A picture of the avalanche in Val d’Isère, which killed two Britons on Friday
A British man died in an avalanche in the French Alps on Tuesday – the third Briton to be killed in the region in the past week.
A group of five people were skiing off-piste near the resort town of La Grave when the avalanche struck.
Two of the skiers – a Polish-born British man who was living in Switzerland and a Polish man, both aged in their 30s – were killed. Their guide was injured and taken to hospital.
Two other skiers in the group, a German and an Australian, escaped unharmed.
The latest deaths bring the number of people killed in avalanches in France since the start of the season to 28, with the majority occurring since January, including six in one weekend.
Two British nationals were also killed in the French ski resort of Val d’Isère on Friday last week, a day after several resorts closed because of the risk of snow slides.
Stuart Leslie, 46, and Shaun Overy, 51, were part of a group of four people skiing off-piste under an instructor’s supervision in the Manchet valley when the avalanche hit.
Stuart Leslie, left, and Shaun Overy were skiing in Val d’Isère when the avalanche hit on Friday
They were swept down the valley into a stream, where rescuers later recovered their bodies.
The avalanche risk in the La Grave area, on La Meije mountain, was “high” on Tuesday – four on a five-point scale – because of a combination of fresh snow and wind, according to the French weather service.
Another avalanche later swept away several hikers in Valloire, in the neighbouring department of Savoie, Mayor Jean-Pierre Rougeaux said.
Rescuers at Valloire after a person died in an avalanche - Facebook
The avalanche killed one person and left two others in a critical condition. All were French nationals.
Prosecutors have opened investigations to determine the causes of death and injury in Tuesday’s avalanches.
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Source: “AOL Breaking”
