Avalanche traps schoolchildren in French Alps

A Ukranian visitor not with the group was also reportedly killed.

French media said that one of the people who died in the accident was a 14-year-old.

France’s National Gendarmerie said on Twitter that a helicopter equipped with a thermal camera is helping to search for survivors. Four of the students were reported to be in cardiac arrest and the teacher was unconscious, while several of the other victims were evacuated to a hospital in Grenoble.

Some witnesses quoted by the prosecutor said that the avalanche could have been triggered by another group of skiers, tourists from Hungary and Romania, who were skiing higher up on the slope.

Thanks to the emergency teams on site (trackers, monitors, mountain rescue units, police, avalanche dogs…) for their outstanding work and effectiveness.

“Eric Arnol, a ski guide at Les Deux Alpes, told BFMTV that the work to find those dead or buried continued even after the sun set in the mountainous region”.

It urged skiers and other mountain users to take extra care and stay on marked pistes.

Les Deux Alpes resort search and rescue arrives at the scene.

After days of heavy snow, a warning was issued for the area.

“The fresh snow cover is not stable and too wet because of the high temperatures – slope conditions are variable across the ski area because of strong winds”.

French President Francois Hollande has sent his condolences to those close to the victims of a deadly avalanche that hit a school group in the Alps.

The skiing season got off to a slow start in France as unseasonably warm temperatures left slopes bare over the festive season with skiers and snowboarders having to make do with artificial snow.