News / France

Bodies of six skiers caught in avalanche found in French Alps

Sunday, 25 January 2015 1:43 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 25 January 2015 1:43 PM ]

Rescuers carry the body of an avalanche victim in the French Alps, January 25, 2015.

The bodies of six skiers have been recovered after an avalanche that swept them away in the Queyras mountain range in the French Alps, police say.

Rescue workers found the bodies of the skiers, aged between 50 and 70, on Sunday, a day after they triggered an avalanche in the range straddling France and Italy.

Police said they discovered the bodies of three victims at the foot of the avalanche-hit mountains in a small valley at an altitude of 2,500 meters before sunrise.

However, unfavorable weather conditions forced a halt to the rescue operation.

Another rescue effort later found the rest of the missing team of skiers.

The reportedly experienced skiers had departed for the mountains on Saturday.

The incident marks the latest in a series of avalanche disasters in the French Alps. On Friday, a 46-year-old woman died in an avalanche in the Savoie region in France. Two skiers, aged 51 and 60, were also found dead on Thursday after being carried away by an avalanche in the Ecrins mountain range in the French Alps.

Since the start of the 2014/2015 winter season, 11 people have died in avalanches in the French Alps, the Association for Snow and Avalanche Studies said.

Around 30 people die in avalanches in the French mountain ranges annually.

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