French skier dies hiking Villarica volcano in Chile

SANTIAGO, Chile – A French tourist fell to his death while hiking with his father and brother on the slopes of a volcano, Chilean authorities said Monday.

The body of the victim, identified as 20-year-old Pierre Colonge, was recovered Monday night after he lost his balance and fell from a trail on the Villarica volcano.

The Ubac Images site that he owned with his brother, Julien, says Colonge was a freeskier and ski instructor from Haute-Savoie, a department in the Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region of eastern France.

Authorities said the man’s 51-year-old father was seriously injured and was being treated at a hospital in the Chilean capital. His 28-year-old brother, Julien, was not hurt.

Police Prefect Claudio Lopez said they were apparently hiking on an unauthorized trail without a guide.

The 9,000-foot (2,847-meter) volcano is 400 miles (670 kilometres) south of Santiago. It sits above the small city of Pucon, where tourists flock for outdoor activities like kayaking, fishing and hiking around the volcano.