The accident left “one dead and three injured, two of whom were seriously but not life-threatening,” said Bonneville public prosecutor Karline Bouisset.
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The accident alert was triggered on Saturday “at 4:35 a.m., four competitors having fallen in a mountainous area made slippery by the weather conditions”, she said in a press release.
The start of the Haut Giffre ultra-trail, a 90 km race, was given at 11:45 p.m. in Samoëns (Haute-Savoie). A man born in 1972 died on the spot of cardio-respiratory arrest. “The exact reasons for his death will be determined by the autopsy that was required,” according to the prosecutor.
The three other injured victims are also men suffering from head trauma. One of them born in 1986 was airlifted to Annecy hospital. Another born in 1971 was airlifted to the Alpes-Leman Hospital Center. Finally, a last more slightly injured victim, a man born in 1976, was evacuated by road to Sallanches, detailed Ms. Bouisset.
“All races have been stopped or canceled,” she said.
Other people were treated for hypothermia, according to the prefecture which mentioned the difficult conditions of care by the PGHM (High Mountain gendarmerie platoon) and the Sdis (departmental fire and rescue service) due to the sector, located at altitude, and difficult weather conditions. “We had significant rainfall between 2:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. combined with low temperatures,” she stressed.
The investigation, opened for “search for the causes of death” and “endangering the lives of others” was entrusted to the Bonneville Research Brigade with the support of the PGHM of Chamonix “in order to do all the shed light on the precise circumstances of these accidents and establish or rule out possible criminal liability.
Trail running is a sport of running, over a long distance, in a natural environment on a materialized route made up in particular of paths or trails. We speak of ultra-trail when the distance to be covered is greater than a marathon (42.195 km)
