Avalanche in Mont Blanc: one dead, several injured… The origin of the accident identified

A tragedy occurred last night in the mountain range.

Drama in the Alps. A deadly avalanche broke out in the mountain range on the night of Sunday 4 to Monday 5 August 2024. A group of 15 people were swept away by a falling block of ice while they were at an altitude of 4,100 metres at the summit of Mount Tacul, one of the peaks of the Mont Blanc range. In a press release press release, the Haute-Savoie prefecture indicated that one person was killed in the avalanche and four others were injured. The other 10 people escaped unharmed, the state services specified.

The first elements reported by the authorities indicate that the tragedy occurred around 3 o'clock in the morning. In the middle of the night, a serac (block of ice) fell “naturally” and took away five of the 15 climbers who were progressing in their ascent. The deployment of helicopters, dog squads as well as various vehicles from the SDIS and SAMU made it possible to take charge of the entire group. All the victims were evacuated to hospitals in Sallanches and Annecy.

According to information gathered by France Bleu Pays de Savoie, the mountaineer who lost his life was French, although his age is not known. The group consisted of other French people, but also Swiss and Spanish people.

The tragedy occurred on the so-called “3 Monts” route. This is a circuit for climbing Mont Blanc via the Aiguille du Midi, then Mont Blanc du Tacul, then Mont Maudit, before reaching the highest European summit.

The summer 2024 is grim in the French Alps since, before this tragedy, a tragic series of five deaths in two days had been recorded at the end of June. The authorities are calling for the greatest caution while operations to secure the area continue this Monday morning, in order to determine whether or not a new avalanche could be triggered.