On the morning of Monday 20 June 2016, at about 11am, a slab avalanche was set off close to the Summit of Mont Blanc du Tacul (4,248 meters), descending the north face.
A New Zealand mountaineer (60) is dead and two other climbers are injured.
The Dauphiné Libere has suggested that the avalanche was triggered by the two Gendarmes from the Chamonix PGHM. They were performing routine training and were carried some distance down the north face of the mountain.
The avalanche descended over 500 meters and hit the New Zealand mountaineer.
According to Dauphiné Libere, the first responders was the SMUR helicopter and it understood that the victim was soon found. The onboard doctor quickly diagnosed cardiac arrest but resuscitation was not successful.
The New Zealander was an experienced mountaineer and a qualified High Mountain Guide who had lived in Chamonix for many years, working regularly with the Company des Guides. The death of someone well known in Chamonix is particularly tragic for the inhabitants of the valley.
An investigation has been opened by the prosecutor Patrice Guigon in Bonnevile. The Research Section of the Chambéry Gendarmerie has been charged to research the evidence, with support from the Bourg Saint-Maurice PGHM. (Savoy)
No personnel in Chamonix will perform any part of the investigation, that will determine facts, and possibly attribute fault.
