Mont Blanc avalanche kills climbers

An avalanche on Mont Blanc in France has killed at least six climbers and injured eight others, according to mountain rescue services. Five British and two Spanish climbers are among those missing after the avalanche on the slope known as Mont Maudit (Accursed Mountain) at Chamonix. The avalanche struck just after 5am on Thursday and surprised at least two climbing teams at an altitude of 4,000 metres on the north face of Mont Blanc, the second most popular path up the mountain. According to initial reports from Europe 1 radio, around 20 people, including French, Swiss, Spanish, German and Serbian nationals, were in the party that was hit. An injured climber raised the alarm at 5.25am, according to the local mountain gendarmerie at Chamonix. Several dozen rescuers, including gendarmes, mountain guides and two teams of sniffer dogs were searching the mountain for survivors. More details …