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| Alps avalanche deaths: Teacher faces manslaughter charge | Alps avalanche deaths: Teacher faces manslaughter charge |
| (4 days later) | |
| A French teacher is under investigation for manslaughter after he apparently led schoolchildren onto a closed ski run shortly before a deadly avalanche. | A French teacher is under investigation for manslaughter after he apparently led schoolchildren onto a closed ski run shortly before a deadly avalanche. |
| Police are waiting to take the teacher into custody. He was seriously injured in the disaster and remains in hospital. | Police are waiting to take the teacher into custody. He was seriously injured in the disaster and remains in hospital. |
| Two pupils and a Ukrainian tourist were killed when the avalanche struck in the Les Deux Alpes on Wednesday. | Two pupils and a Ukrainian tourist were killed when the avalanche struck in the Les Deux Alpes on Wednesday. |
| Warnings were in place after heavy snow in recent days. | Warnings were in place after heavy snow in recent days. |
| The two students who died were a boy of 14 and a 16-year-old girl from Saint-Exupery high school in Lyon. | The two students who died were a boy of 14 and a 16-year-old girl from Saint-Exupery high school in Lyon. |
| The Ukrainian man who was killed was not part of the school group. | The Ukrainian man who was killed was not part of the school group. |
| "We have to interview the hospitalised teacher as soon as we can," Grenoble prosecutor Jean-Yves Coquillat told reporters on Thursday. | "We have to interview the hospitalised teacher as soon as we can," Grenoble prosecutor Jean-Yves Coquillat told reporters on Thursday. |
| "The question is: Why were they skiing on a closed piste?" | "The question is: Why were they skiing on a closed piste?" |
| A huge rescue operation was launched after the avalanche struck the group of 10 teenagers, their teacher and the Ukrainian, 57, on the Bellecombe piste at about 15:45 local time (14:45 GMT) on Wednesday. | A huge rescue operation was launched after the avalanche struck the group of 10 teenagers, their teacher and the Ukrainian, 57, on the Bellecombe piste at about 15:45 local time (14:45 GMT) on Wednesday. |
| The piste, which has the most difficult black rating, had been closed since the beginning of the ski season because of a lack of snow, a manager at Les Deux Alpes told local media. | The piste, which has the most difficult black rating, had been closed since the beginning of the ski season because of a lack of snow, a manager at Les Deux Alpes told local media. |
| Following large quantities of snow, the avalanche risk level was raised to three on a scale of five. | Following large quantities of snow, the avalanche risk level was raised to three on a scale of five. |
| Officials said the danger had been well signposted on the piste, with netting blocking the top. The run is said to be situated on a particularly icy north-facing side of mountain. | Officials said the danger had been well signposted on the piste, with netting blocking the top. The run is said to be situated on a particularly icy north-facing side of mountain. |
| But the teacher and students appear to have deliberately gone past the signs and started skiing downhill, Mr Coquillat said. | But the teacher and students appear to have deliberately gone past the signs and started skiing downhill, Mr Coquillat said. |
| A group of people skiing above the school party on the mountain may have triggered the avalanche, he added. | A group of people skiing above the school party on the mountain may have triggered the avalanche, he added. |
| Earlier French Education Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem promised the investigation would "throw all light" on the circumstances of the tragedy. | Earlier French Education Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem promised the investigation would "throw all light" on the circumstances of the tragedy. |
| Visiting the students' school, the minister expressed her condolences to the victims' families and urged their peers to "stay strong". | Visiting the students' school, the minister expressed her condolences to the victims' families and urged their peers to "stay strong". |
| As well as the three who died, two other pupils were found injured and the teacher was unconscious after suffering multiple broken bones. | As well as the three who died, two other pupils were found injured and the teacher was unconscious after suffering multiple broken bones. |
| The teacher remains seriously ill in hospital but all other members of the party are now "safe and sound", according to the French interior ministry (in French). | The teacher remains seriously ill in hospital but all other members of the party are now "safe and sound", according to the French interior ministry (in French). |
| Students and their families lit candles and laid tributes as remaining members of the ski party returned to the school in Lyon on Wednesday evening. | Students and their families lit candles and laid tributes as remaining members of the ski party returned to the school in Lyon on Wednesday evening. |
| French President Francois Hollande offered "sincere condolences" to the victims' families and said "the solidarity of the whole nation" was with them. | French President Francois Hollande offered "sincere condolences" to the victims' families and said "the solidarity of the whole nation" was with them. |
| Four other people - two Lithuanians, a Spaniard and a Czech - have died since the New Year in avalanches in the French Alps, AFP reports. | Four other people - two Lithuanians, a Spaniard and a Czech - have died since the New Year in avalanches in the French Alps, AFP reports. |
| The regional government has urged skiers and other mountain users to take extra care and stay on marked pistes. | The regional government has urged skiers and other mountain users to take extra care and stay on marked pistes. |