French mountaineer dies in Armenia avalanche

A French mountain climber has died in an avalanche incident in the Armenian mountain resort of Aghveran, Kotayk region.

What is known about the tragedy

Five climbers were mountaineering in Aghveran when one of the climbers was caught in an avalanche. His friends were able to rescue him from under the snow but he was found to be unconscious. He later died in a rescue helicopter.

The incident was reported to the 911 service at 11:05 am. The Ministry of Emergency Situations dispatched an emergency crew and special-purpose rescue unit immediately.

However, due to the difficult terrain, rescuers were forced to walk more than seven kilometres in the snow.

A helicopter from the Ministry of Defense was later dispatched to the rescue site.

The Ministry of Emergency Situations later lamented that the hiker could not be saved:

“At 15:40 pm, the medical staff recorded the death of the French citizen in the Defense Ministry’s helicopter.”

The four other mountain climbers descended the mountain safely.

“Their condition was such that they were ready to go down the mountain on their own skis ,” said the captain of the rescue team, Mkrtich Antonyan.