Jean Daniel Pession pro skier and his girlfriend, Elisa Arlian fall 2300ft to their death off Italy mountain while hiking. Couple found in each others embrace.
A professional skier and his girlfriend have died after falling more than 2300 feet off a mountain in Italy.
Jean Daniel Pession, 28, and his girlfriend, Elisa Arlian, 27, are believed to have been on a hike on Mount Zerbion, a popular Alpine spot for skiers in the Aosta Valley when the tragedy occurred on Saturday.
A rescue team was sent to search for the professional Italian skier and his ski instructor girlfriend after they failed to return home.
L’atleta di chilometro lanciato Jean Daniel Pession e la sua compagna Elisa Arlian, entrambi esperti di montagna e maestri di sci, sono morti precipitando dal Monte Zerbion, in Valle d’Aosta. Dopo ore di ricerche, i soccorritori hanno trovato i loro corpi sepolti dalla neve pic.twitter.com/rW13Zdn7qj
— Tg3 (@Tg3web) June 2, 2024
Final embrace
Their families contacted the authorities, who dispatched three helicopters to the area. The couple’s bodies were found buried in snow hours later. They are believed to have fallen around 2,300ft.
‘They were almost at the summit, just a step away, when suddenly they were betrayed by the mountain they loved so much,’ Italy’s RAI reported. ‘When they were found, they were still tied together, like in a final embrace.’
A signal from one of their cell phones helped rescuers locate their ‘lifeless’ bodies hours after they had been reported missing, RAI noted.
Read a release from the Italian Winter Sports Federation: ‘A terrible tragedy strikes the world of winter sports and speed skiing in particular,’
‘Jean Daniel Pession, a 28-year-old member of the World Cup team, lost his life in a tragic mountain accident that occurred above Champoluc. His girlfriend also died together with Pession.’
‘Over the course of his career, the Aosta Valley native had achieved the best results in 2021, placing fifteenth in the final World Cup ranking, while at the World Championships he came 22nd in Vars in 2022.
‘President Flavio Roda and the entire Federation express their condolences to Pession family for this tragic misfortune.’
‘Two young lives cut short by a mountain accident, that mountain which was their passion,’ Aosta Valley’s Regional Council President Alberto Bertin said, according to RAI. ‘In this moment of deep sadness, we express our closeness to the families, friends, and the entire sports community, embracing them with affection and compassion.’
