Blast to start avalanche kills workers at resort

Two ski resort workers have been killed in Morillon in the French Alps while using explosives to spark an avalanche to keep the slopes safe for skiers. Their deaths came as three German cross-country skiers died and a fourth was reported missing following an avalanche in western Austria at the weekend. The incident in Morillon occurred as the workers were preparing the explosives at a height of 1800m in the family resort in the Haut-Giffre valley.