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gets heavy snow; avalanche in French Alps kills 10
Copyright © 1999 Associated Press
CHAMONIX, France
(February 10) - Two avalanches roared down a mountainside in the French
Alps, burying chalets and killing at least 10 people, police said Wednesday.
Heavy snow fell relentlessly in other parts of Europe, forcing evacuations
and stranding thousands in Switzerland, Austria and Germany.
With at least two people still missing, rescue workers were searching
through the snow that blanketed the area just north of the popular ski
resort of Chamonix, about 30 miles southeast of Geneva. Unable to reach
the villages by vehicle or helicopter, the rescue workers resorted to
skis.
"People can survive for a long time under the snow," said Blaise
Agresti, commander of a mountain police brigade. "In the mountains,
it is important that we never give up."
The avalanches barreled down the mountainside near the villages of Le
Tour and Montroc-le-Planet, destroying 17 chalets and burying others under
deep snow.
"The scene was spectacular," said Jean-Marie Pavy, 49, who was
staying in a chalet just outside the avalanche's path. "The chalet
next to ours disappeared - it was pushed across the road. There were blocks
of cement and gravel everywhere. It was the apocalypse."
The victims included four children, three men and three women, police
said.
Earlier, about 20 people were pulled out of the snow alive, including
at least eight children and one man who spent hours trapped under the
snow before being rescued. Two of the survivors were from the United States.
Meanwhile, rescue workers Wednesday renewed their search for a 28-year-old
British skier in the French Alps resort of Courchevel. The skier, who
was not identified, was skiing off marked trails Tuesday when hit by an
avalanche.
Elsewhere, up to 16 inches of snow fell in parts of the Swiss Alps overnight
and the danger of avalanches remained high, officials said.
In parts of the Austrian province of Tyrol, thousands of people remained
trapped by record snowfall, with some unable to leave for the fifth day,
and snow continued fall in much of Austria.
An avalanche in northwestern Romania blocked a major highway after hours
of heavy snow, but no injuries were reported, the Interior Ministry said.
Snow was expected to taper off in the Alps, however, and the sky was clear
in Chamonix this morning. Ski runs were closed in the French Alps resort,
and hundreds of skiers were trying to leave the town in buses and cars
to find open slopes.
The avalanches came during the first week of the annual French school
winter holidays.
"It's horrible," said Jean-Louis Verdier, deputy mayor of Chamonix.
"There is nothing left. Everything was wiped away. Where the chalets
should be, there is a big hole."