  Valfréjus avalanche Location within France | |
| Date | January 18, 2016 |
|---|---|
| Time | 13:50 (12:50GMT) |
| Location |  Massif des Cerces, Alps |
| Cause | Unstable snow formations |
| Participants | 51 |
| Casualties | |
| 6 dead, 5 injured | |
On 18 January 2016, six French Foreign Legionnaires were killed in an avalanche in the Massif des Cerces, France. [1] [2]
The combination of heavy winter snowfall and strong winds in the Alps led to unstable snow formations in the high peaks. The avalanche warning was raised to 3 out of 5 (Considerable) beforehand. [3]
An avalanche bulletin for the mountain sector warned that a single skier could trigger a surface slide that could then take several layers in the snow pack down to 2 meters deep. [4]
On 18 January, a division of 51 Legionnaires, [1] [2] assigned to the 2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment (2nd REG) took part in an off-piste ski mountain exercise, to receive their Skier Certificate (BSM).
| Citizenship | Deaths |
|---|---|
| France | 1 [5] * |
 Madagascar | 1 [5] * |
 Italy | 1 [5] |
 Nepal | 1 [5] |
 Moldova | 1 [5] |
 Albania | 1 [5] |
 Hungary | 1 [6] |
| Total | 6 |
The (2nd REG) provides combat engineering services to the French Army's 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade, who were also present during the military exercise. [7] [8] The course took place 60 kilometres (35 miles) south of Albertville and near the Valfréjus ski resort, in the Massif des Cerces. [8] [9]
The company was at a height of 2,600m (8,500 ft) when the avalanche struck at 13:50, while 5-6 of the skiers neared Col de Le Petit Argentier. A large slab of ice, about 100 meters wide, broke off a ridge causing a mass avalanche. Several branches of snow about 400 meters wide, engulfed 13 of the skiers in a steep sector of the valley. [2] [5] [10] In all, 18 of the skiers downstream were either buried or shaken. The rest of the company remained at the foot of the slope, near the Pas du Roc peak. [11]
Rescue teams arrived within minutes. [9] The 13 skiers were recovered and found buried under a meter of snow by rescuers with the help of search dogs and avalanche victim detection kits (DVA)'s they were equipped with. [8] [12]
French military and state prosecutors are investigating the case and assessing whether the unit took unnecessary risks. [4] [8] [5] According to French media, the unit was due to be sent on a military operation. Around one-third of the company was projected to be deployed to the Sahel in the coming months in coordination with Operation Barkhane. [3] [11]
French president François Hollande expressed "the nation’s solidarity" over the deaths and wished the injured a speedy recovery. He asked Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian to head to the scene of the accident. [1] [4]
The nationalities of the 6 Legionnaires killed, a mix of veterans and new recruits, [13] was released the following day. A Malagasy (dual French citizenship), Italian, Nepalese, Moldovan, Albanian, and Hungarian, aged between 21 and 33 were killed. [5] [6]
The French Foreign Legion is a corps of the French Army that consists of several specialties: infantry, cavalry, engineers, airborne troops. It was created in 1831 to allow foreign nationals into the French Army. It formed part of the Armée d’Afrique, the French Army's units associated with France's colonial project in Africa, until the end of the Algerian war in 1962.
The Alpine region of Switzerland, conventionally referred to as the Swiss Alps, represents a major natural feature of the country and is, along with the Swiss Plateau and the Swiss portion of the Jura Mountains, one of its three main physiographic regions. The Swiss Alps extend over both the Western Alps and the Eastern Alps, encompassing an area sometimes called Central Alps. While the northern ranges from the Bernese Alps to the Appenzell Alps are entirely in Switzerland, the southern ranges from the Mont Blanc massif to the Bernina massif are shared with other countries such as France, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein.
The Col du Galibier is a mountain pass in the southern region of the French Dauphiné Alps near Grenoble. It is the eighth highest paved road in the Alps, and recurrently the highest point of the Tour de France.
The Diablerets are a huge ice-covered mountain massif of the Alps, culminating at the Sommet des Diablerets at 3,210 metres (10,530 ft) above sea level and straddling the border between the Swiss cantons of Vaud (VD) and Valais (VS). The northeastern part of the massif stretches also into the canton of Bern (BE).
The Watzmann is a mountain in the Berchtesgaden Alps south of the village of Berchtesgaden. It is the third highest in Germany, and the highest located entirely on German territory.
The Mont Blanc massif is a mountain range in the Alps, located mostly in France and Italy, but also straddling Switzerland at its northeastern end. It contains eleven major independent summits, each over 4,000 metres (13,123 ft) in height. It is named after Mont Blanc, the highest point in western Europe and the European Union. Because of its considerable overall altitude, a large proportion of the massif is covered by glaciers, which include the Mer de Glace and the Miage Glacier – the longest glaciers in France and Italy, respectively.
Jean Danjou was a decorated captain of the Foreign Legion in the French Army. He commanded the two lieutenants and 62 legionnaires who fought the Battle of Camarón during the French intervention in Mexico, in which he was killed.
The 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment is the only airborne regiment of the Foreign Legion in the French Army. It is one of the four infantry regiments of the 11th Parachute Brigade and part of the spearhead of the French rapid reaction force.
Between 21 and 23 January 1941, a rebellion of the Iron Guard paramilitary organization, whose members were known as Legionnaires, occurred in Bucharest, Romania. As their privileges were being gradually removed by the Conducător Ion Antonescu, the Legionnaires revolted. During the rebellion and subsequent pogrom, the Iron Guard killed 125 Jews, and 30 soldiers died in the confrontation with the rebels. Following this, the Iron Guard movement was banned and 9,000 of its members were imprisoned.
The 1st Foreign Engineer Regiment is one of two combat engineer regiments of the Foreign Legion in the French Army. The regiment provides the combat engineering component of the 6th Light Armoured Brigade.
The 2nd Foreign Engineer Regiment is one of two combat engineer regiments of the Foreign Legion in the French Army. The regiment provides the combat engineering component of the 27th Mountain Infantry Brigade. Stationed, since its creation in 1999, on the former site of the French Strategic Nuclear Missiles at Saint Christol, Vaucluse, southern France.
Modane is a commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in southeastern France.
The 13th Demi-Brigade of Foreign Legion, was created in 1940 and was the main unit of the 1st Free French Division, Free French Forces (FFL). From the coast of Norway to Bir Hakeim, to Africa then the Alsace, while passing by Syria and Italy, the 13th Demi-Brigade would be part of most of the major campaigns of the French Army during the Second World War.
Valloire is a commune in the Savoie department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.
The 2009 Schalfkogel avalanche was an avalanche which occurred in Sölden, Austria, on 2 May 2009. Six people were killed, five Czechs and one Slovak, when the disaster struck in the 3,500-metre (11,500 ft) Schalfkogel mountain range. The corpses were discovered to have been frozen upon recovery. It was the deadliest avalanche to have occurred in Austria since March 2000. Although avalanches are a regular occurrence in the region, they mainly kill individuals as opposed to entire groups.
André Roch was a mountaineer, avalanche researcher and expert, skier, resort developer, engineer, and author. Roch is best known for having planned and surveyed the Aspen, Colorado, ski resort, and also as an adviser on avalanche management whose expertise was sought throughout the world.
White Friday occurred during the Italian Front of World War I, when an avalanche struck Austro-Hungarian barracks on Mount Marmolada, killing 270 soldiers. Other avalanches the same day struck Italian and other Austro-Hungarian positions, killing hundreds. According to some reports both sides deliberately fired shells into the weakened snowpacks in an attempt to bury the other side.
On the afternoon of 18 January 2017, a major avalanche occurred on Gran Sasso d'Italia massif, one of the mountains above Rigopiano, impacting and destroying the four-star Hotel Rigopiano in Farindola, Abruzzo. The impact killed twenty-nine people and injured eleven others, making the avalanche the deadliest in Italy since the White Friday avalanches in 1916, and the deadliest avalanche in Europe since the Galtür avalanche in 1999.
The Foreign Legion was established in 1831 by King Louis Philippe I to consolidate all foreign corps fighting under French colors, which included, among others, the Swiss Guards, the Swiss regiment of the Royal Guard, and the Hohenlohe Regiment. After its creation, the Legion participated in the further recruitment of foreign nationals into French military service.
The Brenva Glacier is a valley glacier, located on the southern side of the Mont Blanc massif in the Alps. It is the second longest and eighth largest glacier in Italy, and descends down into Val Veny, close to Entrèves, near Courmayeur. Over the centuries it has experienced a number of major rock avalanches which have shaped the glacier and influenced its movement.