Two child skiers and one adult die in French Alps avalanche

An avalanche that struck a school group skiing in the Alps has killed two French high school students and a Ukrainian skier.

Officials say the avalanche in the Deux Alpes resort on Wednesday afternoon hit the group of students from the Saint Exupery school in Lyon and their teacher.

The avalanche killed a 14-year-old, a 16-year-old and a Ukrainian adult skier who was not with the school group, according to police and an official from the resort, about 50 km (31 miles) from the Italian border.

An interior ministry statement said one person had also been gravely injured. The office of the president, Francois Hollande, said three people were seriously injured.

Apart from the two teenagers that died, all other students from the group had been accounted for and were safe, the ministry said.

Officials said 60 rescue workers had been mobilised in a search-and-rescue operation with sniffer dogs and a helicopter.

Avalanche warning

French police commander Bertrand Host told BFM television that there had been an avalanche warning in the area before the incident.

The avalanche struck late in the afternoon.

The regional Dauphine Libere newspaper is reporting that four students were found in cardiac arrest and the teacher was unconscious.

Venosc mayor Pierre Balme told the paper the avalanche happened on a closed ski run.

Mr Hollande has sent his condolences to those close to the victims.

In a statement on Wednesday evening he said the French education minister is on his way to Lyon.

He is expected to arrive in the coming hours to “support the school community and the families”.

It is unclear why members of the school group and an adult with them had been skiing on a black-rated slope that had already been closed because of the risk of an avalanche.

The avalanche happened after a large sheet of snow broke off above the slope following several days of heavy snowfall.

Agencies