Photo: BBC

LYON, Aug 25, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - An Italian mountaineer has been killed by a falling block of ice near Mont Blanc in the French Alps, while his climbing partner was rescued, officials said on Monday.

The 38-year-old man climbing Mont Blanc du Tacul, one of the routes to the summit of Mont Blanc, on Sunday when a serac -- a large block of ice -- broke loose and "swept away" the two climbers, a member of the Chamonix mountain police told AFP.

Rescuers recovered one of the two mountaineers by helicopter. He is "in good health" but shaken by the accident, the said.

The rescuers were unable to revive the Italian man, whose name has not been released.

Serac falls occur regularly on climbing routes to Mont Blanc and are "unpredictable", according to police.

Mont Blanc, western Europe's tallest peak, lies on the three-way border between France, Italy and Switzerland, and stands at some 4,800 metres.