Wiltshire man dies in ski accident in French Alps

The French Alps are a popular destination for skiing and mountaineering

A 63-year-old man from Wiltshire has died in a skiing accident in the French Alps.

John Atkinson, 63, from the Salisbury area, was on holiday with his wife and children when he crashed into a rock at the ski resort of Les Deux Alpes on Thursday.

The Foreign Office said it was aware of the death of a British national and was offering consular assistance.

A spokeswoman for Les Deux Alpes police said the family were in "shock".

'No witnesses'

The family had arrived on holiday two days ago, she said.

She said: "[The man] was skiing with his children on a blue piste at around 3pm yesterday.

"It was snowing and the visibility was not good. He crashed into a rock."

A spokesman from tour operator Les Deux Alpes Loisirs said there were no witnesses to the accident and it was not exactly clear what happened.

"The slope was a blue slope so should have been easy," he said.

"An investigation has started to find out what factors were involved and as part of this are considering health issues that may have caused Mr Atkinson to veer into the rock.

"Two doctors tried to resuscitate him - one who'd been on the slopes at the time, and another doctor who's based at the resort. A rescue team were also sent up but nothing could be done for Mr Atkinson.

"The company says there's no problem with the slope and the resort is back running as normal with people using the same slope Mr Atkinson was using when he died.