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Subscribe to RSSThose who had been climbing directly behind the avalanche victims in France protected the survivors from the strong winds and carried them to a rescue helicopter. ITV's Lewis Vaughan Jones reports.
CHAMONIX, France -- Two climbers were still missing Thursday after an avalanche swept down a mountain in the French Alps, killing at least 9 climbers and injuring 12. A search using dogs and a heat-sensing helicopter was called off until the weather improves.
"The conditions are still perilous. At this stage, the mountain is not safe," French Interior Minister Valls told reporters.
The most deadly avalanche in the Alps since 2008 struck a popular climbing route in the Mont Blanc range near the border with Switzerland.
Officials earlier said four people were missing but later revised that to two.
The dead included three Britons, three Germans, two Spaniards and one Swiss, the head of the Haute-Savoie gendarme service, Bertrand Francois, told a press conference.
About 38 climbers were on Mont Maudit, which means Cursed Mountain, at an elevation of about 13,000 feet when the avalanche hit without warning in fine weather conditions, Francois said. Maudit is one of two access points to the famous Mont Blanc peak.
That included 28 climbers in two separate climbing teams tied together with ropes, as well as independent climbers, he added.
Klemen Gricar / Mountain Tracks
A guide with Mountain Tracks took this photo shortly after the avalanche as rescuers reached the scene.
The gendarme service said it was alerted around 5:25 a.m. Thursday to the avalanche by a survivor. A block of ice some 16 inches thick apparently broke off and slid down the slope, creating a mass of snow that was 6-feet thick and 150-feet long.
"The first elements that we have from testimony are that a climber could have set loose a sheet of ice, and that sheet then pulled down the group of climbers below. I should say that the incline was very, very steep on this northern face," Francois told reporters.
A team with Mountain Tracks, a guide company based in Britain, was among the first to reach the scene.
"Mountain Tracks had a group of climbers with our guides on the mountain at the time of the accident," the company said on its Facebook page. "They were not directly involved but helped in the initial rescue."
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Regional authorities had warned climbers this summer to be careful because of an unusually snowy spring, but authorities had not expected avalanches Thursday as conditions were good, said Jean-Louis Verdier, mayor of the ski resort town of Chamonix.
Maxppp/Gregory Yetchmeniza / EPA
An avalanche victim's body is moved in Chamonix on Thursday.
"We had no more reason than usual to be alarmed," Verdier told Reuters TV. "It's a steep mountain face. There are big plates of snow we know of where an avalanche can easily occur. But this morning we had no reason to expect an avalanche of this size and such a tragedy."
According to recent tweets from climbers, high winds led to overhanging ice slabs forming on the slope. Five days ago, they tweeted that Chamonix saw a monsoon-like downpour that turned to snow at about 10,000 feet.
In 2008, eight Swiss, German and Austrian climbers perished in an avalanche nearby.
Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Leave a Comment:
Riiiiiii--- cola
Funny, took me a moment to get it.
Sooooo Back East, you're the one that caused the avalanche! tisk tisk
What a ride.
Love your avatar. Kurt Barlow is the greatest!
Fine weather conditions - usually means warm and sunny...These are not the conditions one wants when climbing in avalanche areas...You want very cold and not too sunny. Warm and sunny causes the snow sheets to be prone to fracture, and away you go.
Probably not very sunny at 5:25am.
I would totally go climbing on a mountain called "cursed mountain" too.
In all cereal-ness, I feel sorry for the loss of these climbers doing what they love and I wish the best for the climbers still missing.
Always, always, ALWAYS wear an Avalung.
Yesterday, I finished reading Eiger Dreams: Ventures Among Men and Mountains by Jon Krakaue, which explains the dynamics of Climbers Insanity!
May they Rest in Peace.
Mr Krakaue quotes, that tragedies like this can be avoided, if climbers can override their egos and listen to their innate common sense.
French Alps=awesome. RIP.
Very danger sport.
These climbers were not novices. The alarm sounded by one of the injured climbers went off 03:25GMT by the way. The two teams who were roped together (after resting) were doomed by being tied together -since the avalanche gathers strength coming down and noone can escape (tied together in ropes for safety under normal circumstances) Mont Blanc Motif- Mont Maudit is 4,465 m (14,650 feet). The problem was unstable snow (summer time) that can be very treacherous- even for pros. Condolences for those avalanche victims' families,mountaineering companions and thanks for speedy resuce teams arrival.
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Update- the deadly avalanche was started by a mountainclimber stepping on a sheet of snow and ice that broke off. Winds 70km/hr (43 miles/hr). The missing for- GOOD NEWS- 2 did not go,stayed behind and 2 others chose a different path.
Life is so fragile; and condolences and prayers go to the victims' family and friends.
R.I.P. folks and deep condolences to all involved.
Dear Friends:
Is this similar to or comparison to the mountain seperating in Alaska! Different regions! How about the Washington state volcanoe! Is there an earth quake or similar to these in the southern hemisphere or soon to be?
The mountain don't care.