Two dead after avalanche in French Alps

The incident has left a 14-year-old dead and five pupils missing, according to local media.

The third victim has been confirmed as a Ukrainian national who was not with the school group. Officials say the teacher is alive and has been taken to a hospital in Grenoble.

At least 45 people died in snowslides during the 2014-15 winter season in France, according to ANENA, more than double the previous year.

The group of pupils and their teacher was from the St Exupery college in Lyon and was on a week’s holiday in the area.

Tragedy struck around 4 p.m. on a closed ski run.

Witnesses claim that the avalanche was likely the direct result of the group skiing through the area.

The avalanche measured 100 metres in length and was about 25 metres wide. Fresh snow did not attach enough’ to the older layer.

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

The group was skiing in Les Deux Alpes resort when the disaster occured at 4pm local time (3pm).

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

“You could feel that the snow had just fallen and it hadn’t had the time to pack down”.

Investigators believe that noise could’ve triggered the Alps avalanche, or it was a spontaneous effect of heavy snow and winds. “The question is, why were they skiing on a closed piste?”

A teacher had led the group on to the black-rated slope, regional state government official Jean-Paul Bonnetain said on Wednesday.

The first prolonged and heavy snow falls of the winter have descended on the French Alps in recent days.