The 14-year-old boy suffered severe injuries after crashing into a tree in Cortina, northern Italy, and tragically died despite the best efforts of paramedics
A British schoolboy has tragically died in a horror skiing incident while on holiday with his family in northern Italy.
The child, who was wearing a helmet, is said to have suffered serious injuries when he crashed into a tree while going down a trail in Cortina d’Ampezzo at around 9.30am on Saturday. He was pronounced dead despite the best efforts of paramedics, who also used a defibrillator, rescue services said.
Local sources said the accident happened on a ski slope in the area of Lagazuoi. Francesco Cataldo Giorgi, vice president of the Happy Ski school in Cortina, said the tragedy was “a matter of cruel bad luck.”
“Had he fallen just a few metres earlier or later, he may have escaped unharmed. But in this sport, one wrong fall in the wrong place can be fatal,” he told Corriere del Veneto. He added: “We must always exercise extreme caution.”
The incident took place on the Falzarego red run – an intermediate-level slope spanning 3.5km from Lagazuoi toward Col Gallina. Witnesses claim the boy had picked up speed before hitting a dip that lurched him forward uncontrollably, sending him violently crashing into a tree.
According to local reports, the family had been on holiday in the Bolzano region alongside two other families. It is understood they had arrived on the slopes at 9am, just half an hour before the tragic accident.
The boy’s grief-stricken parents are now receiving medical and psychological support as they prepare to repatriate their son’s body to the UK. An investigation has been launched to establish the exact circumstances of the tragedy, Italian media reported, and determine whether there were any previously unknown or unnoticed dangers on the slope.