Taiwanese mountaineer Chang Yuan-chih (張元植) has died after falling while hiking on the north face of Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps and in western Europe, his family confirmed yesterday.
The accident happened at about 7am on Thursday when Chang, 36, was hiking the Plan de l’Aiguille area, his mother and wife said in a statement.
Chang has passed away, they said, and thanked everyone for their messages of condolences.
Photo: Screen grab from Chang’s Facebook page
TRAVELING TO FRANCE
Chang’s mother and wife said they were making arrangements to travel to France to bring his remains back to Taiwan.
“We will inform relatives and friends about the details of Yuan-chih’s accident in due course. Thank you all for your concern and encouragement,” they said.
A Franceinfo news report said that a 36-year-old Taiwanese was found without vital signs by rescuers after he fell 250m down a slope when hiking up a “non- technical” stretch on the snowy northern side of the mountain with a friend on Thursday.
Chang had not yet started using a safety rope at the time of the accident, the report said, and his body and the survivor were subsequently transported to the DZ des Bois in the nearby town of Chamonix, the report said.
THIN LINE
Aware of the potential dangers of mountain climbing, Chang once wrote on his social media account that mountaineering is a dangerous sport that can lead to death, but because there is a thin line between mountaineering and death, it is different from other sports, and enables people to appreciate what life is about.
Taiwan’s representative office in France said its consular affairs section received confirmation of the identity of the deceased from authorities in Chamonix at about 9am on Thursday.
Chang’s family in Taiwan has been informed of the incident, the office said, adding that it would offer assistance to the family in dealing with the aftermath of Chang’s death.
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