La Plagne: British skier falls 500 feet to his death at popular French Alps resort

A British man has died after reportedly plunging almost 500 feet (150m) while skiing in the Alps. The 48-year-old, who has not yet been named, was said to be skiing off-piste at La Plagne resort in Savoie when he got into difficulty.

The incident, which occurred on Monday afternoon (21 March 2016), saw attempts by paramedics to revive him prove unsuccessful. The circumstances surrounding his death are still not clear, with other media outlets initially reporting that he may have fallen up to 1,000 feet.

The accident is the latest tragedy to hit the Alps' winter season. Last month, British skier Anne Clayton died at La Plagne after losing control on a blue run, crashing head-on into a tree.

In January, an avalanche killed two French school pupils and a Ukranian tourist in Bellecombe. Just days later, five French soldiers were killed in an avalanche in the Savoie region.

Two skiers were also killed near the popular resort of Val d'Isere on 5 January after being swept away in separate avalanches. Both were found by rescue workers under 1.5m of snow, according to Valdinet.

The same day saw a 30-year-old skier from the Czech Republic killed at Saint-Colomban-des-Villards after going off-piste in the Les Sybelles area.