An avalanche killed a child and three other people were missing in a Russian resort competing to host the 2014 Winter Olympics, Interfax news agency reported today.
The 10-year-old skier and the others were swept away after the avalanche hit a ski lift at the Krasnaya Polyana resort near the town of Sochi in the south of Russia.
Russian authorities closed ski lifts for two days at the resort this year because of safety concerns just days before a team from the International Olympic Committee inspected Sochi.
Sochi is short-listed along with Salzburg, Austria, and Pyeongchang, South Korea. The IOC will announce the winner by July.