Two British skiers who died in an avalanche at a French Alps ski resort last week have been named.
Stuart Leslie and Shaun Overy were among three people killed in the snow slide at Val d’Isere, a village in southeastern France. The other victim was a French national.
In a tribute posted on Facebook, a friend of Mr Leslie, Craig Hunter, said he lived life to the “absolute maximum” and “squeezed everything out of every moment”.
France’s national weather forecaster, Meteo-France, had issued a red avalanche warning for the Savoie region, which borders Italy, the day before the tragedy unfolded.
It warned “very heavy snowfall” in the Alps had triggered “exceptional avalanche conditions”, and advised “extreme caution” for all mountain activities.
The risk level was scored four out of a possible five.
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A spokesperson for the resort’s slope management department said the Britons were in a group of five people and a professional instructor who did not see the danger as it approached.
The French victim was higher up the mountain and skiing alone, Cedric Bonnevie said. An inquiry into the disaster was launched shortly afterwards.
The deaths of the Britons were confirmed by the Foreign Office.
“We are in contact with the local authorities and stand ready to offer consular assistance,” a statement added.
It came just a month after another British skier was killed in an avalanche in a French Alps resort.
