The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Off-piste skiers killed in French avalanche
Fourdie,five still missing after tragedy strikes at the resort of Tignes
Four skiers have died and five others are missing after an avalanche in the French Alps.
The victims, all reportedly French nationals, were skiing off-piste at the resort of Tignes when they were hit by a massive wall of snow.
Images from the scene showed dozens of people with poles searching for survivors.
Two of the victims were pulled alive from the snow but died later, according to local media reports.
The avalanche, said to have been triggered by a group of skiers higher on the slope, is the worst on French snow this season.
One local worker, who did not want to be named, said: “The Lavachet Wall where it happened is a very dangerous bit of off-piste.
“There is a huge trench at the bottom that was dug to protect the town.
“It is a sad day in Tignes. Everyone is really sad and in shock – and of course praying it’s not any of their friends in there.
“I’ve been here on and off for 18 years so not the first time I’ve seen this, sadly.
“But the security de piste team are amazing here – they work round the clock when snow is heavy trying to make it as safe as possible.”
The incident happened at around 2,100 metres (6,900 feet) at 9.35am GMT yesterday.
Eight people had registered for the session with an instructor, according to reports.
Vicky Allen, a chalet rep, said: “There is a huge search effort still out – it’s a very sad day for all of us working in the resort. It’s devastating.”
Richard Miller, an IT consultant from Cambridge, said: “I saw the piste patrol scrambling with dogs so suspected something was happening.
“Some of the lifts were closed this afternoon after staff were diverted to the search.
“There are still lots of the patrol searching but a lot less people than earlier and they seemed to be scaling back.”
The avalanche risk had been a three on a scale of five before the incident.
The Lavachet Wall where it happened is a very dangerous bit of offpiste