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A professional skier and his girlfriend both died in an apparent hiking accident June 1 when they reportedly fell over 2,000 feet from Mount Zerbion in Italy, according to TMZ Sports and RAINews.
Jean Daniel Pession was 28 years old, while his girlfriend Elisa Arlian — a ski instructor at Sci Club St. Barthélemy and primary school teacher, per her Instagram bio — was also with him at the time, according to RAINews.
The outlet added that the couple fell 700 meters, which equates to just under 2,300 feet.
A post shared by Jean Daniel Pession (@jeandanielpession)
“A terrible tragedy strikes the world of winter sports and speed skiing in particular,” the Italian Winter Sports Federation wrote in a statement on its website, as translated into English. “Jean Daniel Pession, a twenty-eight-year-old member of the World Cup team, lost his life in a tragic mountain accident that occurred above Champoluc (Ao). His girlfriend also died together with Pession.”
The Italian Winter Sports Federation added that Pession, who was an Aosta Valley native, finished 15th in the World Cup rankings three years ago and placed 22nd at the World Championships in 2022.
“President Flavio Roda and the entire Federation express their condolences to Pession family for this tragic misfortune,” the statement continued.
It’s unclear what caused the couple to fall, but they reportedly knew the peak that they were climbing and worried family members once they didn’t return — prompting emergency calls and three helicopters to search for Pession and Arlian — from the hike, RAINews reported.
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Those searching for Pession and Arlian eventually were able to locate signals from their cell phones, according to the report, which eventually helped find them.
“They were almost at the summit, just a step away, when suddenly they were betrayed by the mountain they loved so much,” RAINews reported, according to People. “When they were found, they were still tied together, like in a final embrace.”
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