Four dead in an avalanche in the French Alps

Four people died and nine were injured in an avalanche southwest of Mont Blanc in the French Alps, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Sunday.

The avalanche occurred in the middle of the day on the Armanset glacier, he wrote on Twitter.

Those arrested were cross-country skiing in the mountains, said Emmanuel Cocoande, a spokesman for the local authorities in Haute-Savoie, adding that they were still confirming the identity of the victims.

He said the avalanche was extensive, covering an area of ​​1 kilometer by 500 meters (half a mile by 550 yards) at an altitude of 3,500 metres, and that its causes were being investigated.

The glacier is located near the village and ski resort of Les Contamines-Montjoie.

President Emmanuel Macron wrote on Twitter that rescue services were continuing to search for more victims and that his thoughts were with the victims and their families.

(Reporting by Lilly Frode). Editing by Hugh Lawson and Philippa Fletcher

Our standards: Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.