British skier killed in Argentinean avalanche while skiing with friends
6 September 2024, 10:36
A British woman has died in an avalanche while skiing in Argentina.
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Andrea Marshall, 27, was skiing in Bariloche near Argentina with two friends when an avalanche buried her under snow and rocks.
Rescue services found her body around 11pm on Wednesday in an operation lasting several hours, local authorities have confirmed.
She was named by Argentinean media as the victim of Wednesday's tragedy following initial erroneous reports identifying her as an Irish national.
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The two survivors have been named locally as Augusto Gruttadauria, from the city of Cordoba nearly 1,000 miles north-east of Bariloche, and local man Christian Erauskin.
The survivors were treated for hypothermia after being rescued from the dangerous ordeal on the 7,178ft (2,188m) Cerro Lopez mountain.
Mr Gruttadauria was last to be rescued and spent an agonizing 15 hours buried under snow before being found.
The avalanche started just after 5pm local time on Wednesday.
Originally from Scotland, Andrea is understood to have been living in the Aran Valley in the Spanish Pyrennes. Local reports said she was temporarily teaching at a large ski centre in Bariloche as part of an exchange programme.
The Bariloche Alpine Club Rescue Commission has suggested that the skiers themselves caused the avalanche.
The British Embassy in Buenos Aires told the Buenos Aires Herald: 'We are supporting the family of a British National who died in Argentina and are in contact with the local authorities.'
