Valfréjus avalanche

On 18 January 2016, six French Foreign Legionnaires were killed in an avalanche in the Massif des Cerces, France.[1][2]

2016 Valfréjus avalanche
Valfréjus avalanche
Location within France
DateJanuary 18, 2016 (2016-01-18)
Time13:50 (12:50GMT)
Location Massif des Cerces, Alps
CauseUnstable snow formations
Participants51
Casualties
6 dead, 5 injured

Background

The combination of heavy winter snowfall and strong winds in the Alps led to unstable snow formations in the high peaks. The avalanche warning was raised to 3 out of 5 (Considerable) beforehand.[3]

An avalanche bulletin for the mountain sector warned that a single skier could trigger a surface slide that could then take several layers in the snow pack down to 2 meters deep.[4]

Avalanche

On 18 January, a division of 51 Legionnaires,[1][2] assigned to the 2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment (2nd REG) took part in an off-piste ski mountain exercise, to receive their Skier Certificate (BSM).

Deaths by citizenship
Citizenship Deaths
 France 001[5]*
 Madagascar 001[5]*
 Italy 001[5]
   Nepal 001[5]
 Moldova 001[5]
 Albania 001[5]
 Hungary 001[6]
Total 00 6

The (2nd REG) provides combat engineering services to the French Army's 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade, who were also present during the military exercise.[7][8] The course took place 60 kilometres (35 miles) south of Albertville and near the Valfréjus ski resort, in the Massif des Cerces.[8][9]

The company was at a height of 2,600m (8,500 ft) when the avalanche struck at 13:50, while 5-6 of the skiers neared Col de Le Petit Argentier. A large slab of ice, about 100 meters wide, broke off a ridge causing a mass avalanche. Several branches of snow about 400 meters wide, engulfed 13 of the skiers in a steep sector of the valley.[2][5][10] In all, 18 of the skiers downstream were either buried or shaken. The rest of the company remained at the foot of the slope, near the Pas du Roc peak.[11]

Rescue teams arrived within minutes.[9] The 13 skiers were recovered and found buried under a meter of snow by rescuers with the help of search dogs and avalanche victim detection kits (DVA)'s they were equipped with.[8][12]

Aftermath

French military and state prosecutors are investigating the case and assessing whether the unit took unnecessary risks.[4][8][5] According to French media, the unit was due to be sent on a military operation. Around one-third of the company was projected to be deployed to the Sahel in the coming months in coordination with Operation Barkhane.[3][11]

French president François Hollande expressed "the nation’s solidarity" over the deaths and wished the injured a speedy recovery. He asked Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian to head to the scene of the accident.[1][4]

Fatalities

The nationalities of the 6 Legionnaires killed, a mix of veterans and new recruits,[13] was released the following day. A Malagasy (dual French citizenship), Italian, Nepalese, Moldovan, Albanian, and Hungarian, aged between 21 and 33 were killed.[5][6]

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References
  1. "France minister to visit deadly avalanche site". BBC News. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  2. "Avalanche kills 6 French Foreign Legion soldiers". The Times of India. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  3. Willsher, Kim (2016-01-18). "French Alps avalanche kills five soldiers". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2016-01-26.
  4. "France 24 - Avalanche kills five soldiers during training in French Alps". France 24. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  5. "France to probe risks taken by soldiers in deadly avalanche". Yahoo News. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  6. "Sixth soldier dies after avalanche in French Alps". France 24. Retrieved 2016-01-26.
  7. southasia.com.au. "One of the five French Foreign Legion soldiers killed in Alps avalanche was Nepalese". southasia.com.au. Retrieved 2016-02-06.
  8. lefigaro.fr. "Alpes : des militaires emportés par une avalanche". Le Figaro. Retrieved 2016-01-21.
  9. "A second deadly avalanche in French Alps kills five soldiers". euronews. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  10. "Avalanche de Valfréjus : quelles responsabilités pour l'armée ?". Libération.fr. Retrieved 2016-02-07.
  11. "Quelles suites à l'avalanche de Valfréjus et ses 6 morts ? - Sommets.info". Sommets.info (in French). Retrieved 2016-03-03.
  12. "Five French Foreign Legionnaires killed in Alps avalanche". Yahoo News. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
  13. "Avalanche kills 5 French Foreign Legion soldiers". Yahoo News. Retrieved 2016-01-19.
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