2 Fatal accidents on Mont Blanc Massif

The first incident occurred when a guide and his two clients were climbing the Aiguille de Rochefort when a boulder two of them were standing on gave way. The two men on the boulder fell 50 metres, the guide breaking his pelvis and one of the clients died as a result of the fall. The third person escaped unharmed.

Later that morning the body of a climber was found by two hikers under the Col des Rognes in Les Houches. Initially the rescue team believed the body to be that of a missing Polish climber who was last seen in April, however it transpired to be an American man who had arrived in the valley on Tuesday.

Investigations have been opened into the causes of the two accidents.

Our thoughts are with the family and friends of the people who lost their lives.