Family ‘beyond heartbroken’ after British mother and son killed in avalanche - as police hunt cross-country skiers
31 December 2023, 16:23 | Updated: 31 December 2023, 16:48
The family of a British woman and her son who died after an avalanche swept through an off-piste area of a French ski resort have said they are ‘beyond heartbroken’.
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Kate Vokes, 54, and Archie Vokes, 22 died on Thursday when an avalanche hurtled through an off-piste section of the Saint-Gervais-les-Bains ski resort.
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) confirmed it was supporting the family of the two Britons who died.
The family said in a statement today: "We are beyond heartbroken at the loss of our beloved, wonderful Kate and Archie.
"Words cannot express how terrible we all feel nor the hole in our lives that has been left by this tragic accident.
"We kindly ask for privacy as we grieve together as a family."
The statement added: "Kate was chair of the Oglesby Charitable Trust, a director of their family-owned property company Bruntwood, deputy chair of the Royal Exchange Theatre and a trustee of charities Shared Health and Focussed Care.
"Archie was a personal trainer at Form in Manchester and in the previous year had achieved his level 1 ski instructor qualification in Canada."
They had been skiing with other family members, according to the Bonneville public prosecutor's office.
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Another skier, reportedly an instructor, has been left injured and a hiker was killed in a separate area after the avalanche on Mont Blanc.
An FCDO spokesperson said: "We are supporting the family of two British people who died in France and are in contact with the local authorities."
The avalanche hurtled through an off-piste section of the Saint-Gervais-les-Bains ski resort on Thursday, according to the administration for the Haute-Savoie region.
A search-and-rescue effort was deployed, including around 20 rescuers, two dog teams, a doctor and two helicopters, lasting around five hours.
The avalanche may have been caused by cross-country skiers who were uphill, the Bonneville public prosecutor's office said.
It added that a manslaughter investigation has been opened by police in Chamonix and that post-mortem examinations will take place in the coming days at the medical-legal institute in Grenoble.
The Associated Press (AP) reported that Saint-Gervais mayor Jean-Marc Peillex called weather conditions too unstable for such outings.
He told BFM television: "It rained, it snowed, it was warm. There are enough marked paths to ski on.
"It's terrible what happened. A family is decimated, and we are very sad in Saint-Gervais."
A 31-year-old hiker was found dead after falling on the slope of the Ecrins mountain range, AP reported.
According to the news agency, local broadcaster France-Bleu said rescuers explained the hiker had stepped away from hiking paths to look at mountain goats.
