A mountaineer was killed in a horrific rockfall on Mont Blanc just hours after sending his father a touching WhatsApp message to mark Father’s Day.
The Italian man, Carlo Chiodini, was taking part in an elite alpine training course on March 19 when tragedy struck on the French side of the mountain.
The incident unfolded at around 1.30pm in the Grand Flambeau area, perched some 11,154ft above sea level in Haute-Savoie, close to the Italian border.
Chiodini, 43, originally from Maniago in the province of Pordenone, died at the scene after rocks came crashing down from above.
In a heartbreaking detail, his father, Giancarlo Chiodini, revealed his son had sent a WhatsApp message on the morning of the incident, wishing him a happy Father’s Day before setting out.
In Italy, Father’s Day is celebrated on March 19 – unlike in the UK, where it falls later in the year, on June 21.
Chiodini’s fellow trainee, Federico Andreozzi, from Rome, was left with multiple fractures and was airlifted to a hospital in Annecy, where he was placed in a medically induced coma ahead of surgery.
The instructor accompanying the group, from Trentino-Alto Adige, escaped without injury.
Carlo Chiodini was taking part in an elite alpine training course on March 19 when tragedy struck on the French side of the mountain
Chiodini, 43, originally from Maniago in the province of Pordenone, died at the scene after rocks came crashing down from above (Pictured: Chiodini poses with another hiker in an undated photo)
The incident unfolded at around 1.30pm in the Grand Flambeau area (pictured, stock), perched some 11,154ft above sea level in Haute-Savoie, close to the Italian border
The trio had been roped together on the exposed section of the Grand Flambeau when the deadly rockfall struck, with horrified mountaineers nearby witnessing the incident and raising the alarm.
They had earlier ascended via the Skyway cable car from Courmayeur and were participating in a professional training course organised by the Collegio Guide Alpine del Friuli Venezia Giulia.
Specialist mountain rescue gendarmes from Chamonix rushed to the scene, while prosecutors in Haute-Savoie have since opened an investigation into the fatal incident.
Daniele Guagliardo, president of the Alpine Guides of Friuli Venezia Giulia, said the instructor had been ahead of the two trainees on the rope when the rocks fell, adding that checks confirmed the instructor’s qualifications were all in order.
Chiodini had spent 16 years working as a naval engineer, including overseeing the construction of a vessel in South Korea, before leaving the profession behind to pursue his passion for the mountains and train as an alpine guide.
He is survived by his seven-year-old son.
