menu-control
The Jerusalem Post

Four killed, 9 injured in avalanche in the French Alps

 
 A sign that warns of avalanche dangers protrudes from the snow on a mountain pass where migrants try to cross from Italy into France, near the town of Bardonecchia in northern Italy, December 20, 2017. (photo credit: SIEGFRIED MODOLA/REUTERS)
A sign that warns of avalanche dangers protrudes from the snow on a mountain pass where migrants try to cross from Italy into France, near the town of Bardonecchia in northern Italy, December 20, 2017.
(photo credit: SIEGFRIED MODOLA/REUTERS)

Rescue services are continuing the search for more victims and are in the process of identifying those involved.

Four people have died and nine others have been injured in an avalanche southwest of Mont Blanc in the French Alps, interior minister Gerald Darmanin said on Sunday.

The avalanche occurred in the middle of the day on the Armancette glacier, he wrote on Twitter.

Those caught up in it were backcountry skiing in the mountains, said Emmanuel Coquand, spokesperson for the local authorities of Haute-Savoie, adding that they were still confirming the identity of the victims.

The size of the avalanche 

He said the avalanche was extensive, covering an area of one km by 500 metres (half a mile by 550 yards) at an altitude of 3,500 metres and that its causes are being investigated.

Advertisement

The glacier lies near the village and ski resort of Les Contamines-Montjoie.

File handout photo of Tignes, in the French Alps shows an avalanche site in an off-piste area after an avalanche engulfed nine people, killing at least four, in February 13, 2017 (credit: STR / RADIO VAL D'ISERE / AFP)
File handout photo of Tignes, in the French Alps shows an avalanche site in an off-piste area after an avalanche engulfed nine people, killing at least four, in February 13, 2017 (credit: STR / RADIO VAL D'ISERE / AFP)

President Emmanuel Macron wrote on Twitter that rescue services were continuing to search for further casualties and that his thoughts were with the victims and their families.

×
Email:
×
Email: