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| French Alps avalanche: three dead after schoolchildren engulfed on closed piste | French Alps avalanche: three dead after schoolchildren engulfed on closed piste |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| At least three people have been killed and three others seriously injured after an avalanche in the French Alps hit a group of children on a school ski trip. | |
| Two children were killed – including a 14-year-old – among a group of ten experienced young skiers on a high-school outing from Lyon with their teacher. A Ukrainian skier who wasn’t linked to the group was also found dead. | |
| At least two other members of the school group were found in a state of cardiac arrest and the teacher was found with multiple injuries. They were transferred to a hospital in Grenoble. | |
| The avalanche happened just before 4pm in Les Deux Alpes in Isère, about 30 miles (50km) from the Italian border. A large sheet of snow broke off above a black-rated run that had been closed following several days of heavy snowfall. | |
| A spokesman from the prefect’s office in Isère told France Info radio that the search for survivors was still under way. Asked if the school group should have been on the closed piste, the spokesman said “probably not”, but added that an investigation would have to take place into whether signs showing the piste were closed had been correctly in place. | |
| There had been an avalanche warning in the surrounding area after heavy snowfall. A judicial inquiry has opened to determine the circumstances of the accident. | There had been an avalanche warning in the surrounding area after heavy snowfall. A judicial inquiry has opened to determine the circumstances of the accident. |
| The radio station France Bleu said a large amount of unstable snow had fallen on the mountainside at an altitude of 2,500 metres. Local media reported hundreds of tonnes of snow had slid down the mountain during the avalanche. The local paper, the Dauphine Libéré, said there had been a known avalanche risk in the area. | |
| About 100 rescuers, including mountain teams, search dogs and helicopters with thermic cameras designed to seek out survivors were mobilised as night fell. The search mission was said to be particularly complex. | |
| In a statement, the French president, François Hollande, gave his “sincere condolences” to the families of the victims and said the nation stood in solidarity with them. The prime minister, Manuel Valls, tweeted his “great sadness”, saying France’s thoughts were with the victims and those fighting for their lives. | |
| The education minister is to travel to Lyon to support the school and the families. | The education minister is to travel to Lyon to support the school and the families. |
| Since the start of January, four people have been killed in avalanches in France, including two Lithuanians, a Spaniard and a Czech skier. | Since the start of January, four people have been killed in avalanches in France, including two Lithuanians, a Spaniard and a Czech skier. |
| The avalanche risk in the area remains at level 4 of 5. | The avalanche risk in the area remains at level 4 of 5. |