Brit, 55, killed in massive avalanche at ski resort in the French Alps

At a ski resort in the French Alps, a British man was murdered in a huge avalanche.

After being carried away by an avalanche in an off-piste area in the Chamiix valley, at the base of Mount Blanc, the 55-year-old passed unexpectedly.

Grand Montets, Argentiere, was the scene of the tragedy on Tuesday afternoon.

According to police, ski patrol members found the victim around 4:35 p.m.

They saw an avalanche two-thirds of a mile down the slope as they were getting ready to close the slopes for the day.

They found the victim’s elbow, which had not been fully buried, while examining the area.

Tragically, the individual was declared dead at the scene despite the fact that medics were helicoptered onto the mountain.

For two hours, rescuers searched the area for additional potential victims.

According to a statement from the Haute-Savoie prefecture, a massive avalanche happened in the Herse section of the Grands Montets ski area.

The rescue effort was called off late in the evening due to extremely bad weather and the high chance of a second avalanche.

“The checks carried out confirm a provisional assessment of one victim.”

The victim was a 55-year-old male of English descent, according to the mountain police.

“The reasons for the triggering of this kilometre-long and 400-metre-wide flow are currently unknown and an investigation is underway.”

The man was skiing his eleventh descent from the Herse chairlift, according to local media.

The European Avalanche Danger Scale gave the avalanche risk a “high” rating of four out of five.

The Bochard gondola, the highest lift on the mountain, was forced to close due to strong afternoon gusts.

Skiers were advised to “imperatively respect the precautionary instructions given by the resorts and public services” by the prefecture.