Emergency services raced to the scene.
Panticosa avalanche (Image: GUARDIA CIVIL)
Three people have been killed after an avalanche hit a popular ski resort in Spain on Monday. Six people were caught up in the floods of snow that hurtled down the slopes of the Spanish Pyrenees, with three skiers dying from the avalanche.
A woman in their group managed to survive the disaster but is now in the hospital receiving treatment for hypothermia, while the final two members of their group managed to escape relatively unscathed. They became trapped in the snow after a fall at around 1pm local time on December 29, with emergency services receiving a call soon after.
The avalanche swept the skiers on their way down from Tablato peak, right on the border with France in the Aragon region of Spain.
The Panticosa area is one of the country’s most popular ski resorts, attracting over a million people to the slopes every year.
Panticosa is currently under a Level 2 Avalanche warning by the Spanish weather agency Aemet, while over the border, Meteo France has issued widespread avalanche warnings across the Pyrenees.
Spanish mountain rescue specialists soon began their search of the snow, using a helicopter alongside on the ground rescue workers who were able to locate the group.
In a reaction to the disaster, the region’s president, Jorge Azcon, announced that he would change his scheduled visit to the region due to the avalanche risk.
Posting on X, he added: “Shocked by the news arriving from the tragic mountain accident at Tablato peak, in the municipal district of Panticosa. I cancelled my schedule to head to the Pyrenean locality.”
No further information has been released about the victim and the group involved.
