- By Kathryn Armstrong
- BBC news
The aftermath of an avalanche on the Armancette glacier on Sunday
At least five people have died and one person is missing after an avalanche in the French Alps.
It happened on the Armancette glacier near Mont Blanc in southeastern France around noon Sunday local time.
Deputy mayor Elisabeth Mollard confirmed the deaths and told French radio station RTL that two of the dead were local tour guides.
Several other injured were taken to the hospital.
The avalanche was caused by a slab of snow that broke away from the top of the mountain, according to Jean-Luc Mattel, an official in the nearby village of Contamines-Montjoie.
Mountain-rescue teams were accompanied by search and rescue dogs as they worked throughout the day to reach those caught. The search for the missing person is expected to continue on Monday.
Mr Mattel said the level of danger on Sunday morning was “reasonable” and the guides, both locals, were very experienced. The group is considered all backcountry skiing – when skiers go to unmarked or unpatrolled areas.
“Today, we are mourning, and there is great sadness for all our mountaineers, friends of Les Contamines, those who died are people we knew, and all our thoughts are with their families,” he said.
The interior minister of France, Gérald Darmanin and French President Emmanuel Macron also expressed their sympathy.
Before the incident, a nearby ski resort called Les Contamines-Montjoie posted a video on social media showing a large wall of snow descending from the Dômes de Miage, where the glacier a part.
It is not clear whether the video shows the avalanche in which the people died.
See: The snow and ice cascade from the Dômes de Miage in the French Alps
An eyewitness told France Television that he was hiking in front of the Armancette glacier when he saw the avalanche occur and took out his phone to film it.
“I put the phone in front of me but then I looked with my eyes more than the lens and suddenly there was a big, big, big cloud that fell down, it split in two,” he said.
“I think of the families, I think of the people, of those who got out of it, who are in fear of their lives, of those who are still there.”
The nearby resort is urging people to be careful when they go off-piste – away from the prepared ski runs.
Officials told the AFP news agency that further landslides cannot be ruled out.
Two brothers died in an avalanche on the same glacier in 2014. Both were experienced mountain climbers and were well equipped.
