A British woman has died after being caught in an avalanche while hiking with two others on the Mont Blanc mountain range in the French Alps, rescue services said.
The incident happened on Saturday on the Argentière glacier, one of the largest glaciers in the Mont Blanc mountain range.
Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in Western Europe at 4,800 meters (almost 16,000 feet), attracts 20,000 hikers and skiers each year.
The 45-year-old woman and her partner were on a hike with a mountain guide when an avalanche hit her at around 5.30pm on Saturday, according to Le Figaro.
Despite the intervention of the emergency services, she “unfortunately died”, Chamonix’s High Mountain Police Platoon (PGHM) said.
Police have ordered an investigation into the incident and an autopsy. The other two tourists were unharmed, authorities said.
Mont Blanc’s popularity poses a growing security and environmental challenge, local authorities have warned. Warmer temperatures in recent years have melted the permafrost, increasing the risk of rockfall on the most popular routes.
In August, authorities closed two popular mountain shelters used by climbers on Mont Blanc due to potentially deadly drought-related rock falls.
Melting snow is also believed to help trigger avalanches.
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