Illustrative photo of an intervention of the high mountain gendarmerie platoon (PGHM) in a helicopter.
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JOBARD / SIPA
Mountain rescue services discovered, Monday morning, the body of a 45-year-old American residing in the United Kingdom, at the foot of a large snow slope near Chamonix (Haute-Savoie).
A skier who was evolving in the Monts Jovet sector, in the town of Contamines-Montjoie, had given the alert around 10:30 a.m. Monday when he saw ski touring equipment at the foot of a snowfall, around 1,700 m. 'altitude.
Arrived on the spot, the rescuers of the peloton of high mountain gendarmerie (PGHM) of Chamonix could only note the death of the American skier, who probably "unscrewed on 700-800 meters in a slope of steep and hard snow".
This one would then have crossed several rocky bars, as explained by the PGHM, which specifies that an avalanche is probably not in question.
Date of accident unknown
Without a direct witness, the man being alone, the gendarmes could not determine whether the fall had occurred Monday morning or Sunday.
The mountain rescue services have opened an investigation to determine the circumstances of the accident and they intend to rely on telephone data.
The clues found indicate that this owner of a British driving license had already attacked his ski descent when he fell, on the west face of the Jovet Mountains.
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