Irish skier plunges 600m to his death ‘losing balance while taking photos’ on mountain

A mountain rescue service team discovered the 28-year-old and took him to a hospital in the nearby town of Razlog.

He was initially going to be taken by the country’s only air ambulance, but “due to a technical malfunction” the journey was aborted.

The Bansko Ski Resort in Bulgaria

WikICommons

Bulgarian news agency Novinite reported the man was instead transported by snowmobile before being transferred to an ambulance.

Dr Valentin Belchev said the injured tourist “was taken to a hospital in critical condition where ‘life-saving measures were taken, and a full assessment of his injuries was carried out.”

However, he remained in a critical condition and died a day later on Wednesday.

Now, an investigation has been launched as to why the helicopter experienced a malfunction.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

• British skier dies after crashing into fellow UK tourist
• British skier killed French Alps: Hit by ‘very large’ avalanche
• British skier dies on holiday in France after smashing into tree

Irish broadcaster RTE reports a spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs said that it was “aware of the case and is providing consular assistance.”

It comes after an avalanche in the French Alps killed four Norwegian skiers after they were swept away by an off-piste torrent of snow and ice.

The victims were part of a group of seven skiers caught in the avalanche in Val-Cenis, on the border with Italy.

A separate avalanche near Chamonix, in the Haute-Savoie region, killed a Swiss skier, according to the public prosecutor’s office in Bonneville.

Meanwhile, an investigation is under way after a British woman died following a “violent collision” on a ski slope in the French Alps.

The 62-year-old reportedly crashed into a stationary skier, a British man, on the Aiguille Rouge mountain at the Les Arcs resort.

She died shortly afterwards, after experiencing traumatic shock, according to French news outlet Le Dauphine.