“An exceptional actor”, “an immense talent”. Magnificent Saint-Laurent on the screen, eternal Manech with the face of an angel, Gaspard Ulliel died this Wednesday afternoon at the age of 37, following a skiing accident in Haute-Savoie. While an investigation is underway to determine the precise circumstances of the tragedy, here are the elements that we know and which were communicated by the Albertville prosecution at the end of the day.
The accident occurred Tuesday, at 4 p.m., in the Montvalezain sector, located in the Rosières ski area, in Haute-Tarentaise. Gaspar Ulliel collided with another skier on the top of the blue “Tetras” run. A sector that is not considered dangerous. “He had just branched off to the left, probably to join his friends who were on the Gellinotte track”, indicates Anne Gaches, public prosecutor of Albertville.
The other uninjured skier
According to The Dauphine Libere, the actor, who was on vacation, was not wearing a helmet. However, this information has not been confirmed by the prosecution. “It appears from the first testimonies and the observations made on the spot that the two skiers both fell to the ground”, continues Anne Gaches.
When help arrived, Gaspard Ulliel was motionless, “unconscious in the snow”. The other skier escaped “unscathed”. The actor was then rushed by helicopter to Grenoble hospital, where he died on Wednesday “soon after 4 p.m.”.
This accident revived the memory of other personalities who were victims of skiing accidents. In December 2013, Formula 1 driver Michael Schumacher was admitted to the same establishment after falling heavily against a rock in the resort of Méribel. He was hospitalized there for six months. In June 2014, he finally left the CHU in a vegetative state to be installed in a medical bed in his villa in Switzerland.
Last weekend, a 5-year-old girl from Great Britain died after being hit at full speed by a skier on the slopes of Flaine.