Two Czech climbers died early Wednesday morning while climbing Mont Blanc in the French Alps. A third member of the Czech climbing team sustained minor injuries. The accident occurred in the treacherous Grand Couloir du Goûter on the standard route to the highest peak in the Alps.

The PGHM mountain rescue team from Chamonix received a report of an accident at 2:30 a.m. on Wednesday, July 15. A three-person rope team consisting of a mountain guide and two clients fell to their deaths in the Goûter couloir in the municipality of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains in the Haute-Savoie department following a rockfall.

According to the French television station France 3, a 57-year-old Czech mountain guide and one of his clients, aged 49, were killed in the accident. The third member of the group suffered minor injuries and was evacuated to a hospital in Sallanches.

The Czech Association of Mountain Guides (ČAHV) confirmed that one of the victims was a member of the association and a Czech mountain guide. The other two participants in the climb were his clients.

The Grand Couloir du Goûter is one of the most dangerous sections of the classic ascent route on Mont Blanc. The narrow rock gully is known for frequent rockfalls, a risk that has increased in recent days due to high temperatures. According to the French prefecture of Haute-Savoie, the heat wave and the rapid melting of remaining snow, glaciers, and permafrost are destabilizing the rock faces and may cause rock blocks to break off suddenly. As a result, government authorities have urged caution in the mountains.