Stuart Leslie, 46, and Shaun Overy, 51, were part of a group of four skiers who were hit by an avalanche in the French Alps on Friday, with the two men tragically dying
Two off-piste skiers who died when they were caught in a devastating avalanche in France have been pictured for the first time. Brits Stuart Leslie, 46, and Shaun Overy, 51, were among a group of four skiers who were struck by the avalanche in Val d’Isère and tragically lost their lives.
The group were engulfed by the avalanche while skiing in the Manchet valley with an instructor on Friday (February 13). Stuart and Shaun were carried to the base of the slope into a stream, where their bodies were discovered by emergency services afterwards.
A third person also perished in the avalanche, a French national who had been skiing in the vicinity, reports the Mirror. Local reports indicated another Brit was also injured in the avalanche but managed to free himself from the overwhelming snow.
Tributes have been paid to Stuart, who was employed as a sales and marketing director for Barratt Redrow construction. “We have lost a true legend,” one of his closest friends Craig Hunter posted on Facebook.
“Our beautiful Stuart. He lived life to the absolute maximum – he packed ten men’s lives into one. He squeezed everything out of every moment. We shared endless laughs, unforgettable memories and our dreams that were coming reality.
“We ate like kings, danced like no one was watching, built businesses, shared Barcelona, the UK, France, Dubai.” Stuart frequently posted about his passion for off-piste skiing on social media, the practice of skiing down mountainsides rather than specially-made ski slopes.
Shaun operated a plumbing firm in Wimbledon, collaborating with his wife Frencesca who serves as co-director of the business. The pair are believed to have been friends and seasoned skiers.
The avalanche occurred less than 24 hours after the area had been put on red alert for only the second time since the warning system was established 25 years ago. The deadly incident happened after Storm Nils dumped between 60 and 100 of snow across the region, with the thunderous avalanche thundering down the mountain at 11:30am.
Local authorities have characterised the conditions as “very unstable snow cover” whilst local police have launched a manslaughter investigation as part of their probe. Neighbouring ski resorts such as Plagne, Les Arcs, Peisey-Vallandry and La Grave shut down due to the snowstorm. The red alert had been removed by Friday, but the risk level stayed at four out of five.
The avalanche swept down the slope for about 400 metres before reaching a stream, Val d’Isère’s piste director Cédric Bonnevie said. It was unclear what caused the avalanche but French media have speculated that it may have been started by the solo skier who also died.
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