2 skiers killed in avalanche on popular Mont Blanc skiing route near French-Swiss border

Two skiers were killed and different injured Sunday erstwhile an off-trail avalanche tore done a fashionable freeride way connected the Italian broadside of the Mont Blanc massif adjacent the French-Swiss border, officials said.

Three skiers were swept up successful the Sunday greeting descent on the Couloir Vesses, a well-known off-piste way successful Courmayeur’s precocious Val Veny, according to Italy’s Alpine Rescue, The Associated Press reported.

Search and rescue operations progressive 15 rescuers, 3 canine units and 2 helicopters. One unfortunate was transported to a infirmary successful superior information but aboriginal died, the bureau said.

Authorities said different idiosyncratic was partially buried successful an avalanche successful Trentino but was pulled to information by companions.

LINDSEY VONN TRAINS WITH KNEE BRACE AFTER COMPLETELY RUPTURING ACL ONE WEEK BEFORE OLYMPIC RETURN

This handout representation released by the Italian Alpine Rescue shows the avalanche that killed 2 men successful the Couloir Vesses, a well-known freeride way successful Courmayeur, successful the precocious Val Veny, bluish Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (Italian Alpine Rescue via AP, HO)

The deadly descent comes amid a peculiarly unsafe agelong successful the Italian Alps. Italy’s Alpine Rescue said past week that 13 backcountry skiers, climbers and hikers died successful the Italian mountains successful the week ending Feb. 8 – a grounds toll – with 10 of those deaths caused by avalanches linked to an unusually unstable snowpack.

Officials said caller storms person dumped caller snowfall onto fragile underlying layers, portion beardown winds person created unstable drifts, producing hazardous conditions crossed the Alpine arc bordering France, Switzerland and Austria.

The main contented is caused by "persistent anemic layers successful the snowy cloak, often covered by caller snowfall oregon wind, conditions that marque detachments unpredictable and easy triggered adjacent by the passing of a azygous skier oregon alpinist," the National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps said. "The unsafe points are galore and hard to identify, adjacent for an expert."

LINDSEY VONN CRASHES IN WINTER OLYMPICS ALPINE SKI WOMEN'S DOWNHILL EVENT

Vigili del Fuoco unit members conducts a chopper rescue implicit a snow-covered upland area. (Vigili del Fuoco)

Federico Catania, a spokesperson for Italy’s Alpine Rescue Corps, said caller snowstorms person drawn visitors anxious to instrumentality vantage of caller slopes, "and arsenic a result, the fig of accidents, and truthful fatalities, has accrued proportionally," The AP reported.

Courmayeur, a municipality of astir 2,900 residents, sits astir 200 kilometers – oregon 124 miles – northwest of Milan, a big metropolis for the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics.

The incidents occurred arsenic the Winter Olympics were kicking disconnected successful the portion connected Feb. 6.

AMERICAN SKIERS RESCUED AFTER GETTING LOST NEAR OLYMPIC VENUE IN THE ITALIAN ALPS

Two Vigili del Fuoco unit members basal wrong a chopper adjacent to an unfastened doorway during a snowy upland operation.   (Vigili del Fuoco)

Authorities stressed that contention sites – located successful Lombardy adjacent the Swiss border, Cortina d’Ampezzo successful Veneto and Val di Fiemme successful Trentino – stay safe, well-maintained and intimately monitored.

"There is nary information for radical skiing wrong managed skis resorts, and, successful particular, nary risks to the Olympic sites," Catania said previously. "All of these areas are perpetually monitored and are mostly harmless careless of Olympic events."

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

Prior to the commencement of the Winter Olympics, Vigili del Fuoco said crews would support information measures for each visitors to the sites.

Fox News Digital’s Bonny Chu and The Associated Press contributed to this report.