A British schoolboy has tragically been killed in a horrific skiing accident during a family holiday to Italy.
The 14-year-old, who was wearing a helmet, was pronounced dead at the scene in Cortina D’Ampezzo, in the Bolzano region, after colliding with a tree while descending a trail at around 9.30am on Saturday, February 22. Rescue services said paramedics tried their best to save him, with a defibrillator used, but his injuries were too serious.
The incident happened on a red intermediate-level slope measuring 3.5km. Witnesses claimed the youngster was travelling at speed before hitting a dip that threw him forward uncontrollably, sending him flying into a tree.
Francesco Cataldo Giorgi, vice president of the Happy Ski school in Cortina, described it as “a matter of cruel bad luck”.
Speaking to Corriere del Veneto, he added: “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. We must always exercise extreme caution.”
Local reports say the teen and his family were visiting the Bolzano region alongside two other families. It is understood they had arrived on the slopes at 9am, just half an hour before the tragedy, the Mirror reports.
His heartbroken parents are now receiving medical and psychological support as they prepare to return their son’s body to the UK.
Italian media sources have reported an investigation is now underway in order to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident, and establish whether there were any previously unknown or unnoticed dangers on the slope.