Classmates of a seven-year-old boy who plunged to his death down a cliff after becoming separated from his family during a skiing holiday are being offered expert support as they return to school after the Easter break.
Carwyn Scott-Howell, from south Wales, fell at least 49 metres (160ft) after leaving the piste in the French Alps. His family have paid tribute to an “adorable, caring person” who learned to ski at the age of three. They said he became separated from them after skiing ahead when his sister lost a ski on a jump.
Emyr Jones, headteacher at Ysgol y Bannau in Brecon, said the school would be supporting pupils as they returned for the new term.
“The school mourns the loss of one of its pupils, Carwyn Scott-Howell, a lively and likable pupil who will be greatly missed,” he said. “We as Ysgol y Bannau’s extended community, the staff, pupils, parents and governors, extend our deepest sympathy to the family. Our thoughts and prayers are with them.”
Carwyn was reported missing from Flaine, 38 miles north-west of Chamonix, on Friday afternoon and his body was found a few hours later at the bottom of a cliff after a helicopter search.
The family have a farm in the small village of Talybont-on-Usk, in the Brecon Beacons, where Carwyn’s parents, Ceri and Rhys, run an award-winning produce business and rent holiday cottages.
They issued a statement through the Foreign Office, saying: “Carwyn was an adorable caring person who gave so much love. [A] very daring, outgoing, determined little boy whose handsome smile lit up any room and made life full of laughter with never a dull moment.
“Carwyn was a very competent skier and snowboarder who had started skiing at the age of three and spent several weeks each year skiing. We had spent the most happy ski holiday together in the French ski resort of Flaine. The family were all enjoying their last ski run over the small jumps and bumps at the side of the slope together, when Carwyn’s sister lost her ski on a jump and at this point Carwyn skied ahead.
“The family cannot explain their feeling of utter devastation, with a vast void in their hearts. The family would like to thank all their friends and family for their support at this time and the vast help from the British consulate.”
Michael Ollagnon, the police chief in the town of Bonneville, said: “It seems as if the boy did the last piste descent of the day on his own. He appears to have become lost before falling over the edge of the cliff after taking his skis off.”
Sylvain Philippe, director of the Société du Domaine Skiable de Flaine, said: “The whole resort has been affected by the death of this young boy. We are thinking above all of his family. An inquiry into his death has started to find out the exact circumstances of what happened.”
Liam Fitzpatrick, an independent county councillor for Talybont-on-Usk, said the community was in shock. “He was seven years old, it’s horrendous. A tragic, tragic accident,” he said. “We just can’t comprehend it. It’s a small village and everyone knows each other, especially his parents who are well-known because of their business.
“There will be massive support here for them when they come back. The community will be ready to assist in any way it possible can. It’s impossible to know what they are going through at the moment.”
