An avalanche on Sunday near Mont Blanc in southeastern France swept four people to their deaths and left two more missing, officials said.
Among the dead were two mountain guides caught by the snow tumbling down the Armancette glacier, the prefecture for the Haute-Savoie department said.
Investigators had been called in to help with the search for the two persons still unaccounted for in the Alps.
Photo: Twitter@jpclement38 via Reuters
One person also suffered slight injuries in the avalanche, while eight others also swept up were unharmed, the prefecture said.
No avalanche warning had been issued for the region by weather authority Meteo France, but a combination of warm weather and wind might have been behind the disaster, the prefecture added.
“We’re thinking of [the victims] as well as of their families,” French President Emmanuel Macron wrote on Twitter. “Our emergency services have been mobilized to find those still trapped in the snow.”
Emergency responders had deployed a helicopter as well as mountain rescue dogs, although the prefecture warned a further avalanche could not be ruled out.
The operation was suspended on Sunday evening, but resumed at 7am yesterday.
“I think it’s the most deadly avalanche this season,” Contamines-Montjoie Mayor Francois Barbier said.
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