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British skier plunges to his death in French Alps after heading off piste

The Local France
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British skier plunges to his death in French Alps after heading off piste
AFP

Another British skier died in the French Alps at the weekend after plunging hundreds of metres while he was skiing off piste.

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The skier died at the resort of Oz-en-Oisans in Isere.

He and two other skiers had been trying to get back to the resort by skiing off piste near the area called Alpette.

According to reports they tried to follow marks in the snow made by previous skiers but lost their way and ended up in a particularly dangerous area.

The three men then fell 200 metres over a rocky outcrop. While the British skier was pronounced dead at the scene the other two were rescued by mountain police.

According to mountain rescue spokesman Francois Bepol, the group ventured off-piste and went in the wrong direction.

They got into difficulty and took off their skis to try to climb upwards, Mr Bepol said.

The cliff, however, was "very steep and icy" and two of the three men fell.

The death comes just weeks after two British skiers died after venturing off piste near the resort of Chamonix.

Officials had warned that the conditions off piste were dangerous due to the poor quality of the snow.

It's been a tragic winter for British holidaymakers in the French Alps.

In December The Local reported how a young British man froze to death at a ski resort after getting lost on his way home from a bar.

And just days later another British skier was reported missing in the resort of Tignes after taking a ski lift for the final descent of the day.

 

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