Jean Daniel Pession: World Cup skier and girlfriend Elisa Arlian fall to their death after mountain accident

A World Cup skiier and his girlfriend have died on an Italian mountain. Pession, 28, and Arlian, 27, fell more than 2,000ft to their death off Mount Zerbion in Italy. Their deaths were confirmed by the Italian Winter sports Federation in a statement issued over the weekend.

The federation said: "'A terrible tragedy strikes the world of winter sports and speed skiing in particular. Jean Daniel Pession, a 28-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." It is believed that Pession and Arlian had been hiking on the mountain when they fell to their deaths. The alarm was raised by their families after they did not return home.

A search ensued for the pair, with mountain rescue mobilised along with three helicopters, police and firefighters. Pession and Arlian were said to have been found dead by search team, with the boyfriend and girlfriend still embracing each other when they were found, according to The Mirror.

Pession was an accomplished skier and a member of the Italian World Cup team, with whom he achieved a career best of 15th in the 2021 standings. Arlian was also a trained skier and was a cross-country ski instructor and primary school teacher.