A British man who died in an avalanche while skiing off-piste in the French Alps has been named as a retired company director. The tragedy happened in the early afternoon, and officials revealed that Mr Willetts was not carrying an avalanche transmitter which would have helped to locate him. More than 50 people were involved in the search and rescue for Mr Willetts, with ski instructors, mountain guides and a helicopter-deployed dog involved. On the day Mr Willets was killed the alert level was 3 out of 5. He then retired and set up Star Sports Massage, and the Facebook page of his firm is illustrated with several photographs of Mr Willetts skiing in France.

Source: Daily Mail February 21, 2026 15:32 UTC