TL;DR
Three skiers — two British nationals and one French citizen — were killed after an avalanche swept through the Manchet valley near Val d'Isère on Friday, 13 February 2026. The incident occurred during a period of severe weather driven by Storm Nils, which had already prompted multiple French resorts to close their pistes. A manslaughter investigation is now underway.
Three skiers have been killed after an avalanche struck the Manchet valley near Val d'Isère in the French Alps on Friday, 13 February 2026.
The victims — two British nationals and one French citizen — were caught in the slide during a period of severe weather that had already put much of the Savoie region on high alert.
A group of five skiers, including the two British victims, had been skiing off-piste with an instructor at the time. All five were swept up in the avalanche. The instructor survived unharmed and later tested negative for alcohol and drugs. A fifth member of the group sustained minor injuries.
The French victim was killed separately, struck while skiing alone at around 11:30am local time.
A witness at the scene, Antoine Martignon, described watching the slide unfold: "I was watching people free riding and skiing off-piste, and thought it looks very dangerous. In 20 seconds, there was an avalanche, it went down and took people below."
