Two skiers died and a third was injured following an avalanche on the French side of Mont Blanc, in the Graian Alps. This was communicated by the Haute-Savoie Police Prefecture. The accident occurred yesterday afternoon, around 3.30pm, when a group of eight skiers were surprised by the avalanche, while skiing off-piste in the town of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, at around 2,300 meters above sea level.
The victims are a 54-year-old British woman and her 22-year-old son. The two, as announced by the French Public Prosecutor's Office, were skiing under the supervision of an instructor in an off-piste area.
The other five skiers managed to escape unharmed from the avalanche, which extended for a length of approximately 400 metres. Around twenty rescuers, two dog teams, a doctor and two helicopters were mobilized for almost five hours in the search, prosecutor Karline Bouisset said in a statement. An investigation for ''manslaughter'' has been opened.
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