At 3 a.m. this Monday, August 5, an avalanche triggered by a fall of seracs swept the north face of Mont Blanc du Tacul, while around fifteen people were climbing this route which could constitute one of the access routes to Mont Blanc . A tragedy which is not the first on this slope.
Having left very early from the Cosmiques refuge or their bivouac, the mountaineers who set off to climb the north face of Mont Blanc du Tacul (4,248 m) thought they would minimize the risks. But their precautions are quickly swept away by an avalanche of snow and ice.
Shortly before 3 a.m., while they were advancing by the light of their headlamps, a serac fall occurred at an altitude of nearly 4,100 m and triggered a devastating flow which tumbled to the bottom of the face, carrying with her about fifteen people.
The alert was given and a major rescue system was immediately deployed by the Chamonix high mountain gendarmerie platoon (PGHM). 23 First aid gendarmes, doctors from the Pays du Mont-Blanc Hospitals and firefighters from the mountain group were sent to the scene of the accident, with the help of the crews of the Choucas and Dragon 74 helicopters.
There, it’s chaos. The rescuers could see ropes but had difficulty understanding who was moving with whom. Eleven climbers appear to have only been jostled by the slide.
On the other hand, one group seems to have been hit more violently than the others by the avalanche. Partly buried in this mass of snow and ice, four injured people were identified and treated.
One of them, French and aged 62, was transported in absolute emergency to Annecy hospital. Another 40-year-old Frenchman, in worrying condition, was taken to Sallanches hospital where two more lightly injured people were also taken: a Spaniard and his son.
But for a 57-year-old Frenchman, it is already too late. Declared dead on site, the PGHM can only repatriate his body to the helicopter base. One dead and four injured.
The toll is already heavy but remains provisional.
Le Dauphiné
