Moment avalanche cascades down mountain in Italy as dozens of skiers watch on – before desperately trying to flee

This is the moment a huge avalanche cascaded down a mountainside engulfing dozens of skiers below. 

Dramatic footage captured the mass of snow and ice tumbling down a steep slope near the Italian resort of Courmayeur on Tuesday. 

In the clip which has been shared on social media, a large group of skiers can be seen waiting by a chairlift on the other side of the mountain. 

While many are watching on, the avalanche quickly gathers speed and ploughs over a row of tall pine trees. 

Dozens of skiers tried to flee the area at the last minute but were engulfed in a cloud of powder. It is unknown if anyone was injured. 

The avalanche, which unfolded near the Zerotta chairlift in Val Veny, comes just days after two skiers were killed in a similar incident in the same resort. 

The tragedy occurred on Sunday on the Couloir Vesses, a well-known freeride route, Italy’s Alpine Rescue said.

One of the victims was taken to a hospital in serious condition but later died.

Fifteen rescuers, three canine units and two helicopters took part in the search and rescue efforts.

Courmayeur, a town with about 2,900 inhabitants, is 124 miles north-west of Milan, one of the venues hosting the Milan-Cortina.

Resorts in Italy have been placed under high avalanche alerts after fresh snowfall on weak internal layers have led to risky conditions for skiers. 

Meanwhile, a number of Brits have also been killed skiing in the French Alps this winter. 

It was on Tuesday revealed a British national who lived in Switzerland had been killed in an avalanche. 

Just days before an avalanche in Val-d’Isère swept away six skiers in an off-piste area of the slopes, killing one French national and the two Britons. 

The Brits were on Monday night named as Stuart Leslie, 46, and 51-year-old Shaun Overy. 

Emergency services responded quickly but could not prevent the deaths, a resort official said, noting that all of the victims had avalanche transceivers.

The deaths occurred less than 24 hours after the Savoie region was placed on a rare red avalanche alert – a warning level issued only twice before in the 25 years since its introduction.

Although the alert had been lifted by Friday morning, the risk remained at four out of five – officially ‘high’ – with avalanches ‘easily triggered by skiers or hikers’ and capable of mobilising ‘very large volumes of snow’.

Skiers are warned against going off-piste when the avalanche danger level is above tier three.

Storm Nils had blanketed the area with up to a metre of fresh snowfall on Thursday, leaving what Météo-France described as a ‘very unstable snow cover’.

Several resorts, including La Plagne, Les Arcs, Peisey-Vallandry and La Grave, were forced to close.

The group had been skiing under the supervision of an instructor, who was unhurt. Alcohol and drug tests were negative.

A manslaughter investigation has been launched by the CRS Alpes mountain rescue police, as is routine in fatal mountain accidents, under the direction of Albertville prosecutor Benoît Bachelet.

Cédric Bonnevie, Val d’Isère’s piste director, said the avalanche tore down the slope for 400metres before ending in a stream.

He said the cause remains unknown, though French media suggested it may have been triggered by the solo skier above the group.

Rescuers located two of the victims within 15 minutes, as they were equipped with avalanche transceivers.

But finding the third body proved more challenging when it emerged that the device was submerged underwater and no longer functioning.

Dogs and probes were deployed before the body was recovered hours later.

Mr Bonnevie told The Telegraph: ‘This is always a sad situation. Three people in the same avalanche is so tragic.’

The majority of fatal winter sports accidents in France, Switzerland, Austria and Italy occur off-piste rather than on secured runs.

Avalanches account for around half of those deaths, with France averaging about 25 fatalities each winter.

This season alone, there have been at least 25 avalanche deaths across the country.