A British man and his 12-year-old son have died while hiking in the French Alps, the father apparently falling to his death while trying to save his child.
The pair, named as Peter Saunders, 48, and his son Charlie, died on Saturday afternoon while exploring a trail on the Couloir des Bossons on the Mont-Blanc range above the Chamonix valley. The route is popular but perilously slippery and often impossible to follow when covered in snow and ice in winter.
The rescue centre at Annecy received a brief call from the father at around 3pm on Saturday, saying that his son had fallen and disappeared. “He said he could no longer see him and couldn't get to him,” said Captain Patrice Ribes, deputy commander of the mountain rescue gendarmerie at Chamonix. “We think the father tried to find his son after he called us and asked for rescue. We believe he fell as he tried to find his son.”
A rescue mission was launched, but the search area was immense. Thanks to a photograph the father sent on Saturday, the location was identified around 2am on Sunday. The search resumed at first light, and the bodies were discovered 40 minutes later at 7.40am in a gully around Bossons. The boy had fallen about 300 metres, while his father had fallen 200 metres.
The pair had flown to Geneva on Saturday to spend the weekend in Chamonix. According to locals, the walking route is popular in summer but not in winter, when it requires special equipment. Ribes said the pair had trekking-type shoes with tread soles, which are not suitable for snow- and ice-covered winter mountains. An inquiry will establish the circumstances of the accident.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We can confirm the death of two British nationals in the French Alps and are providing consular assistance to the family at this difficult time.”
