The detachment of a serac on the French side of the Mont Blanc massif has resulted in one fatality and four injuries, one of which is very serious. The incident occurred early this morning around 2 AM, along the normal route of the Trois Mont-Blanc and below Mont Blanc du Tacul, which peaks at 4,248 meters. Fifteen climbers were involved in the collapse. Rescue operations are ongoing. Another seven people emerged unscathed, while two foreigners – German based on the initial information gathered – are reported missing.
Search ongoing for the missing
The search for the two missing individuals is underway. The rescuing gendarmes from the Pghm of Chamonix are currently unsure whether the two, who have not been in contact since, were indeed caught in the collapse. “We had just passed. It was dark, we only heard a noise. A crack, and then the sliding of snow, material, down the valley,” recounted Paolo Comune, director of the Alpine Rescue of Aosta Valley. This morning he was training, off duty, together with two finance officers of Sagf precisely in the area where the detachment occurred. “It was about 2:30 AM, we immediately called the Peloton de gendarmerie de haute montagne of Chamonix – Comune explained – to report the collapse and offer our assistance to return to help. They advised us to continue as they were on their way by helicopter since they had already received reports: if necessary, they would call us back.” Alongside the two finance officers, Comune had set off from the refuge des Cosmiques at 1:30 AM, aiming to reach the summit of Mont Blanc via the normal French route of Trois Mont Blanc. At the moment of the collapse, he recalled, “we were still on the face of Mont Blanc du Tacul. The trail at that point veers to the right, and we were out of the trajectory of the serac.”
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“Collapse due to natural causes”
“According to initial information gathered, the origin of the serac’s fall would be natural,” explained the Haute-Savoie prefecture (France) in a statement, specifying that among the injured, one is in “absolute urgency” and three are in “relative urgency.” At the time of the detachment, “several teams of climbers were moving nearby”: all fifteen climbers involved have been taken care of by rescue services and transported to the hospitals of Sallanches and Annecy. At the scene, following the alarm, helicopters from the national gendarmerie and the French civil protection intervened, along with two canine units, firefighters, and the Peloton de gendarmerie de haute montagne of Chamonix, along with medical personnel.
