Brit skier, 63, collapses and dies of a heart attack on the slopes at French ski resort

• He was skiing at La Plagne, Savoie, an alpine region in the southeast of France 

By Miriam Kuepper

Published: 09:08 GMT, 29 January 2024 | Updated: 09:33 GMT, 29 January 2024

A British skier has collapsed and died of a heart attack on the slopes at a French ski resort.

The man was skiing at the ski resort in La Plagne, Savoie, an alpine region in the southeast of France, yesterday when he complained about feeling ill.

He had a heart attack while riding down the slopes and could not be resuscitated by the mountain rescue team, local media reports. 

‘The 63-year-old complained of feeling ill, and then collapsed,’ a police spokesperson told the Sun.

‘Emergency workers were at the scene extremely quickly, but the man could not be revived. He was declared dead by the Modane mountain aid station.’

The man was skiing at the ski resort in La Plagne, Savoie, an alpine region in the southeast of France , yesterday (file image of La Plagne)

This comes on the same day as a 79-year-old Briton had a skiing accident at the SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser resort in the Tyrolean town Brixental, in western Austria. 

The man was travelling downhill around 12.15pm local time when he fell over the edge of the run in a right-hand bend.

He was seriously injured after tumbling down for 45 metres. He was not wearing a helmet and suffered serious head injuries. 

A rescue helicopter took the man to nearby Kufstein hospital after he was given first aid by the local piste rescue service members. 

Just last month three British holidaymakers, including an eight-year-old boy, were airlifted to hospital following separate skiing accidents at a resort in Austria.

In the first incident, a 19-year-old male Briton collided with a man from Germany on the slopes in the Tyrolean ski resort of Obergurgl on Sunday, December 17.

The teenager was taken from the piste to the University Clinic of Innsbruck by helicopter due to the severity of his injuries.

The 59-year-old German tourist whom he collided with was less seriously injured and was taken to the valley with a rescue sledge. Austrian authorities did not reveal the Briton’s identity.

Due to the country’s strict privacy regulations, they did not provide information on what kind of injuries he had suffered in the accident either.

The following day (December 18), an eight-year-old British boy crashed with a 21-year-old man on a piste in the same resort.

This comes on the same day as a 79-year-old Briton had a skiing accident on the SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser slope in Tyrolean ski resort Brixental, western Austria (file image of SkiWelt Wilder Kaiser)

Three British holidaymakers, including an eight-year-old boy, were airlifted to hospital following separate skiing accidents at the Obergurgl resort (pictured) in Austria 

While the young man received medical care in Obergurgl, the child was airlifted to the University Clinic of Innsbruck. As with the first incident, the police did not reveal the involved skiers’ identities.

In a statement from December 18, the Police of the State of Tyrol said: ‘Around 10.50am on 18th December 2023, an accident occurred on the red piste number seven in the ski resort of Obergurgl. 

‘The reason has not yet been determined. A 21-year-old male skier from Great Britain collided with an eight-year-old British boy. The child sustained unspecified injuries. He was taken to the University Clinic of Innsbruck with an emergency helicopter.’

Heavy early snowfalls have meant there was plenty of deep snow, which can be challenging, especially for beginner skiers, which may have contributed to the spate of accidents involving the British holidaymakers. 

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Brit skier, 63, collapses and dies of a heart attack on the slopes at French ski resort

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