How the tragedy unfolded for British skiers on France’s ‘death slope’: Woman died after crashing into man while descending black slope with 2,026-metre vertical descent that has claimed five lives in recent years

A British skier who died after a ‘violent collision’ with another tourist in the French Alps has become just the latest victim to lose his life on the deadly black slope.

The unnamed British woman, 62, is said to have collided head-on with a 35-year-old British man on the Aiguille Rouge slope after losing control of her skis.

Emergency services rushed to the mountainside and paramedics attempted to revive her, but tragically she was pronounced dead at the scene.

The man she collided with was stationary at the time after stopping on a “bump” under the main track, said Philippe Janin, slope safety director for the Les Arcs area. Janin said the track was “well groomed” at the time of the collision.

The skier who was struck suffered a broken leg and was transported to a local medical center.

According to local prosecutor Benoît Bachelet, the Alpine police have launched an investigation to determine the circumstances of the accident.

The woman is the fifth person since 2008 to have lost their life skiing or snowboarding on the infamous slope – which was described by industry experts as ‘tough’ and ‘for strong skiers only’ or off-piste, where after major snow dumps regularly prevent avalanches.

Aiguille Rouge – named after the 3,227-metre-high mountain from which it descends – is one of the longest runs in the world, taking up to 40 minutes even for experienced skiers.

The cabin of the cable car that goes to the top of the Aiguille Rouge

It has one of the largest vertical drops of any piste – a whopping 2,026 meters – and consists of several difficult sections that wind through the Vanoise National Park.

The latest tragedy comes after a 13-year-old boy lost his life while skiing with his family on the mountain on Christmas Day.

The group had ventured off-piste when an avalanche, believed to be caused by a snowboarder above, buried the child.

Around 3 p.m. local time, a ski patrol spotted the avalanche and alerted rescuers, including a doctor, members of the gendarmerie and two dog handlers, who responded to the incident.

Desperate attempts to locate the boy before he suffocated were unsuccessful and he was found unconscious twenty minutes after the search began.

He could not be resuscitated and was pronounced dead at the scene around 5:08 p.m., according to Midi Libre.

Aiguille Rouge – named after the 3,227 meter high mountain from which it descends – is one of the longest descents in the world

His six family members avoided being flooded and escaped unharmed.

The avalanche danger at the summit that day was level three out of five, indicating ‘significant’ danger.

The skier who died on Tuesday is the second British woman to die in a collision on the Aiguille Rouge.

In 2009, a 38-year-old skier from London reportedly made a turn and fell head first down the slope, quickly picking up speed as she hurtled down.

She crashed into a snowstorm and was partially buried, leaving her unable to free herself as she went into cardiac arrest, according to reports at the time citing rescuers.

In 2014, another fatal fall occurred in a nearby off-piste area.

A snowboarder reportedly fell off a cliff at the same time an avalanche was apparently triggered.

Search and rescue teams were unable to revive him at the scene.

In 2008, a Parisian who was skiing off-piste was killed by an avalanche.

According to Domaines skiables de France (DSF), of the approximately 10 million skiers, an average of 10 traumatic deaths are recorded annually on France’s slopes, including three to five resulting from a collision with an obstacle or between skiers.