Five skiers killed in avalanche of French Alps

Five skiers were killed in two separate avalanches in the French Alps on Wednesday, local officials confirmed.

A snow torrent arrived in Val-Cenis, in the southeast region of Savoie, killing four Norwegian skiers, while a Swiss skier died further north in the Haute-Savoie region, near Chamonix.

Three of the Norwegians were killed instantly, while a room, a woman, died in a nearby hospital after suffering severe hypothermia and cardiorespiratory arrest.

They were part of a larger group of seven skiers and the remaining three were unharmed.

Jacques Arnoux, mayor of Val-Cenis, told AFP that each member of the group had taken an avalanche beacon while they were out of the ski run.

Also known as skiing in the background, it refers to any unmarked or maintained area for skiers and is considerably more dangerous.

“It was a large avalanche that was activated outside the ski area,” added Mayor Arnoux.

A team of 10 mountain rescue specialists was sent in the operation, said a police source.

The Swiss victim, a 30 -year -old woman, was skiing with her brother, who was taken to the hospital to obtain tests, and her father, who was unharmed.

The three had anti-airbags and were skiing off the track at the Mont Blanc Massif mountain range.

On Tuesday, a 55-year-old Brazilian-Portuguese skier Killed in an “very large” avalanche in an off -track Mont Blanc section.