Avalanches kill skiers in French Alps
Five skiers were killed in avalanches in the French Alps today, buried under snowslides as they skied off-piste, police said.
Mountain rescue services urged skiers to exercise great caution in the northern French Alps, where the risk of avalanches was today estimated at level four on a scale of five. Heavy snowfall has hit the region since Monday.
Two skiers were swept away and killed at the Arcs station, where they were skiing off-piste with a guide, police said.
The victims were equipped with avalanche beacons to send out digital signals, but rescuers could not reach them quickly enough.
In the Deux-Alpes station, a ski patroller was carried away by an avalanche that he triggered off-piste.
Several minutes later, a snowslide nearby at the same station buried another skier.
He was promptly rescued but died of injuries at the hospital, police said.
Another skier was killed in the Menuires station.
