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Annecy shootings: bodies found in UK-registered car near French lake Annecy shootings: bodies found in UK-registered car near French lake
(about 4 hours later)
Five people including a child were found shot in and around a British-registered car parked in an Alpine beauty spot on Wednesday. Firefighters were alerted by a cyclist – said to be British – who discovered a girl lying seriously injured in front of the vehicle in a secluded car park near the village of Chevaline, close to Lake Annecy. He was in a state of shock afterwards but has since spoken to police officers. Five people including a child were found shot in and around a British-registered car parked in an Alpine beauty spot.
Inside the BMW saloon were the bodies of a man at the wheel and two women in the rear seats. All had been shot. Their ages are not known, but some reports said they were aged in their 40s or 50s. The alarm was raised by a cyclist – said to be British – who discovered a girl lying seriously injured in front of a BMW in a secluded car park near the village of Chevaline, close to Lake Annecy. He was in a state of shock afterwards but has since spoken to police officers.
A second man "dressed in cycling gear" was found "in the proximity of the car", according to gendarmes, who said the ground around the vehicle was littered with bullet cartridges, suggesting all the gunshots had come from outside the car. A bicycle belonging to the man was found nearby. A man at the driver's wheel and two women in the rear seats had all been shot.
The girl was taken by helicopter to Grenoble hospital where surgeons were fighting to save her life. Annecy prosecutor Eric Maillaud said she is aged between six and seven years old. A source told French journalists that she had been hit by at least three bullets. A second man "dressed in cycling gear" was found "in the proximity of the car", according to French police.
No arrests have yet been made. Maillaud said: "We don't know who could have done this. We have no idea." They who said the ground around the vehicle was littered with bullet cartridges, suggesting all the gunshots had come from outside the car. A bicycle belonging to the man was found nearby.
A young girl, aged between six and seven years old, was also found near the car. She was taken by helicopter to Grenoble hospital where surgeons were fighting to save her life. A source told French journalists that she had been hit by at least three bullets.
No arrests have yet been made and no weapon has been found. Forensic experts from the Criminal Research Institute of the National Gendarmerie were set to arrive on the scene from Paris on Wednesday night.
Autopsies are planned for Thursday or Friday, the Annecy prosecutor Eric Maillaud said.
He said the discovery was like a scene from a film: "We don't know who could have done this. We have no idea."
He added that the victims were "found very shortly after the shootings".He added that the victims were "found very shortly after the shootings".
No details of the ages or nationality of the victims were released by the French police. No details of the ages or nationality of the victims were released by the French police. Maillaud said: "The car is an English car, we are sure of that, but we don't know their nationality. It is not possible to move the people before tomorrow [Thursday] morning. We don't have access to documents to know who the people are."
Maillaud said: "The car is an English car, we are sure of that, but we don't know their nationality." A police spokesman told the Mirror: "From the registration we believe this family may have been British."
A British Foreign Office spokesman said: "We are aware of the reports of the shooting and we are looking into these urgently." The Foreign Office is investigating. A spokesman said: "We are aware of the reports of the shooting and we are looking into these urgently."
The area around the car park was sealed off and 60 gendarmes were searching for evidence. "At this stage of the inquiry we cannot have any idea what happened," said the public prosecutor, Eric Maillaud. The area around the car park was sealed off and 60 gendarmes were searching for evidence. "At this stage of the inquiry we cannot have any idea what happened," said the public prosecutor, Eric Maillaud. The local Dauphin Libéré newspaper said Chevaline residents had reported seeing a car leaving the village at high speed late on Thursday afternoon.
The local Dauphin Libéré newspaper said Chevaline residents had reported seeing a car leaving the village at high speed late on Thursday afternoon. According to Annecy's official website, the area is known as the "little Venice of the Alps" and is a centre for swimming and watersports. With a population of little more than 200, Chevaline lies within the boundaries of France's largest national parks, the Parc Naturel Regional du Massif des Bauges.
Leila Lamnaouer, a French journalist, told Sky News that it was unclear if the victims were local or tourists. "A lot of people are coming here to spend holidays and use the lake because we have a beautiful landscape," she said. "A lot of English people live here because they love the place." Leila Lamnaouer, a French journalist, told Sky News that it was unclear if the victims were local or tourists.
"A lot of people are coming here to spend holidays and use the lake because we have a beautiful landscape," she said. "A lot of English people live here because they love the place." French newspaper L'Essor Savoyard reported that locals had been left shocked by the attacks, saying that the region was usually quiet.
Mayor Didier Berthollet told the newspaper that the victims are not from the area and that the forest road where the car was found is very popular with walkers.