Pyrenees: a firefighter from Lot-et-Garonne dies in a fall whilst out walking

According to a report from our colleagues at the Agen Petit Bleu, a firefighter from the Houeillès fire station, a small town situated 50 kilometres west of Agen, died in an accident on Friday afternoon in the Pyrenees, above Lake Espingo, a natural lake near Luchon, in Haute-Garonne. The 56-year-old man from Lot-et-Garonne was out hiking in his spare time. He was an experienced mountaineer and was accompanied by a friend who was also a firefighter (with the departmental service in Foulayronnes, near Agen). The two men, well equipped, had set off from Les Granges d’Astau, beyond the village of Oô, for a mountain hike. They then followed a route leading them towards a snow-free and accessible ridge. It was on the descent that the tragedy occurred, shortly after 2.00 pm. The man, in his fifties, is believed to have leaned against a rock and lost his balance. He is thought to have fallen around a hundred metres. The CRS from Lannemezan, mountain rescue specialists based in Luchon, were called in to rescue the victim. Unfortunately, however, the hiker died. This evening, colleagues and friends – and indeed the entire fire service community in the 47 department – are in shock. On Friday morning, the CRS posted a safety message on their Facebook page, reminding people that despite the conditions that have prevailed in the mountains over the past month – with plenty of sunshine and little snow – the mountains are not yet in summer conditions. “You must approach hiking with extra caution. Be careful in certain areas which may be completely frozen, as shown in the photos of the path to Lake Espingo at around 1,800 metres,” they write.