Avalanche in French Alps kills four

An avalanche in the French Alps, southwest of Mont Blanc, has killed four people and injured nine others.

France’s interior minister Gerald Darmanin wrote on Twitter on Sunday that the avalanche occurred in the middle of the day on the Armancette glacier.

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.

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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.

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

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.

Zainab Sa’id