Gap - A French mountain guide went on trial yesterday over the deaths in an avalanche of 11 people he led on a snowshoe excursion despite snowslide warnings.
Mr Daniel Forte (44) faces up to five years in prison on charges of multiple manslaughter and injuries, and of endangering lives.
Nine teenagers on a holiday from the Paris region and two adults died in the avalanche on January 25th last year near the skiing resort of Les Orres in south-eastern France.