Jean Daniel Pession dead at 28: World Cup skier and girlfriend fall more than 2,300ft to their death in horror accident
SKIING star Jean Daniel Pession, 28, and his girlfriend, Elisa Arlian, have died after a horror accident.
The pair have tragically passed away after falling more than 2,000 feet off a mountain in Italy.
The Italian Winter Sports Federation confirmed the sad news in a statement this weekend.
It read: “‘A terrible tragedy strikes the world of winter sports and speed skiing in particular.
“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.
“Over the course of his career, the Aosta Valley native had achieved the best results in 2021, placing fifteenth in the final World Cup ranking, while at the World Championships he came 22nd in Vars in 2022.
“President Flavio Roda and the entire Federation express their condolences to Pession family for this tragic misfortune.”
Pession and Arlian, 27, were reportedly on a romantic hike on Mount Zerbion in the Alps when the tragedy struck.
It’s said that their families raised concerns when they had not returned home, prompting three helicopters including mountain rescue, police, and firefighters to be launched in a rescue mission.
The Mirror report that the pair were later found dead and still embracing one and other following a fall believed to have been from around 2,300ft.
Pession was a member of the Italian Skiing World Cup team and achieved a career best finish of 15th back in the 2021 standings.
His girlfriend was a cross-country ski instructor and primary school teacher.
Tributes have already been left for the pair in the comments section of their past social media posts.
One read: “What a tragedy… rest in peace guys”.
While another read: “This is unbelievable I can’t believe it. Rest in peace.”