A British family captured a heart-stopping moment as a massive avalanche thundered down a mountain at an Italian resort, only to realize it was heading straight for them.
The intense video, showing tons of snow barreling down the steep slopes, was recorded in Val Veny, Courmayeur, on Tuesday. This occurred just days after a similar event claimed two lives.
The brief Instagram clip reveals a cloud of snow cascading down the mountain, advancing toward a group of unaware skiers below.
In mere moments, the cloud rapidly expands and accelerates, enveloping the sky above the skiers. Panic ensues, with some individuals heard screaming while others frantically call for evacuation.
Despite the chaos, the man behind the camera remains composed, reassuring those nearby by saying, “It’s alright, it’s alright.”
Another voice can be heard advising, “relax,” as the snow rushes over the group, prompting skiers to shield their faces by lowering their heads.
A child describes the moment as ‘so cool’, while others try to turn their bodies away from the masses of snow descending and blowing into their bodies.
When asked if they should try to flee in the blizzard-like conditions, the man again stays calm and says: ‘No, we’re alright, stay here’.
Fascination turned to terror as a British family filmed the moment a gigantic avalanche cascaded down a mountain at Val Veny, Courmayeur, Italy, on Tuesday
The huge cloud came at force towards the skiers, who can be seen in the footage trying to turn their bodies away from the masses of snow blowing into their bodies
The skiers endured blizzard-like conditions as snow from the avalanche engulfed them
A second video taken from further away shows the sheer size of the avalanche cloud and the proximity of dozens of skiers who became engulfed by it within just a matter of seconds.
It is not believed anyone was injured in the latest avalanche to hit the region in just a matter of days.
On Sunday, two people were killed on the Couloir Vesses in Courmayeur, which is a well-known freeride route according to Italy’s Alpine Rescue.
One of the victims was taken to a hospital in serious condition, but later died.
Fifteen rescuers, three canine units and two helicopters took part in the search and rescue efforts.
Courmayeur, a town with about 2,900 inhabitants, is 124 miles north-west of Milan, one of the venues hosting the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.
Resorts in Italy have been placed under high avalanche alerts after fresh snowfall on weak internal layers have led to risky conditions for skiers.
On Tuesday, a British national who lived in Switzerland was killed in an avalanche on the couloir of Côte Fine, in La Grave, France.
Dramatic footage taken from a different angle captured the mass of snow and ice tumbling down the steep slope in Courmayeur on Tuesday
Two skiers were found in cardiorespiratory arrest and later pronounced dead, according to public prosecutor Marion Lozac’Hmeur.
The victims are a 39-year-old Polish man and a 37-year-old British national originally from Poland who lived in Switzerland.
Their French guide was injured and taken to Grenoble University Hospital. Two skiers, from Germany and Australia escaped unhurt.
Two Brits and one French national were also killed in an avalanche on Monday in Val-d’Isère, France, which swept away six skiers in an off-piste area of the slopes.
The British nationals, named as Stuart Leslie, 46, and 51-year-old Shaun Overy, were swept hundreds of metres down the mountainside and carried into a stream at the bottom of the slope, where rescuers later recovered their bodies.
A third Briton survived with minor injuries after reportedly digging himself out of the snow.
Emergency services responded quickly but could not prevent the deaths, a resort official said, noting that all of the victims had avalanche transceivers.
The deaths occurred less than 24 hours after the Savoie region was placed on a rare red avalanche alert – a warning level issued only twice before in the 25 years since its introduction.
The slide struck the Côte Fine couloir in La Grave on Tuesday morning (pictured)
Shaun Overy, 51, (left) and Stuart Leslie, 46, (right) were killed in an avalanche in the French Alps
The avalanche in Val d’Isere swept away six skiers in an off-piste area of the slopes, killing one French national and the two Britons
Although the alert had been lifted by Friday morning, the risk remained at four out of five – officially ‘high’ – with avalanches ‘easily triggered by skiers or hikers’ and capable of mobilising ‘very large volumes of snow’.
Skiers are warned against going off-piste when the avalanche danger level is above tier three.
Storm Nils had blanketed the area with up to a metre of fresh snowfall on Thursday, leaving what Météo-France described as a ‘very unstable snow cover’.
Several resorts, including La Plagne, Les Arcs, Peisey-Vallandry and La Grave, were forced to close.
The majority of fatal winter sports accidents in France, Switzerland, Austria and Italy occur off-piste rather than on secured runs.
Avalanches account for around half of those deaths, with France averaging about 25 fatalities each winter.
This season alone, there have been at least 25 avalanche deaths across the country.
