Italy: Tragedy strikes as 14-year-old schoolboy hits tree and dies in holiday skiing crash
Tragedy has struck an British family on holidays in Italy after a 14-year-old boy was killed in a skiing accident.
Skiers who witnessed the incident say the boy, who was wearing a helmet crashed into a tree at high speed and suffered severe chest injuries.
The Falzarego red run, a slope spanning 3.5km from Lagazuoi toward Col Gallina in Northern Italy was the scene of the crash with local emergency services trying to revive the boy for over half and hour .
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.Paramedics desperately fought to save the 14-year-old for over half an hour using a defibrillator, but he was tragically pronounced dead at the scene.
Francesco Cataldo Giorgi, vice president of the Happy Ski school in Cortina, told local Italian media that: “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.”
The boys parents are part of a large group who were enjoying a holiday and were close by when the accident occurred.
They were on hand as paramedics rendered assistance and are now undergoing medical and psychological treatment before making arrangements to take their son’s body home to the UK.
Investigators are now working to determine whether any previously unknown or unnoticed dangers are on the slope that could have played a role in the accident.
