At least four people have died in an avalanche at the ski resort of Tignes in south-eastern France, rescuers say.
A group of nine – said to include a guide – was buried after the wall of snow swept through an off-piste area, police say.
The other five skiers have been found and were being “extracted”, according to a rescuer speaking to the Associated Press news agency.
But it was unclear if there were any other survivors, the rescuer said.
The 400-metre (1,300ft) wide avalanche occurred at an altitude of 2,100 metres, and struck at a particularly busy time during half-term holidays.
The resort is popular with British holidaymakers, but local police have told the BBC that the four dead skiers were all French nationals.
The avalanche appeared to have been set off by a group of skiers higher up, the ski station said in a statement.
Rescue services deployed two helicopters as well as sniffer dogs to help search for the missing skiers. There are about 40 people involved in the rescue operation.
The skiers are understood to be in an area hard to reach with mechanical equipment.
The incident is the worst in France since the beginning of this year’s ski season.
The avalanche warning level at Tignes on Monday was three out of five, France’s Dauphine Libere reported.
There were 13 previous skiing accidents in the Alps and Pyrenees this winter, killing three people.
Last winter, there were 45 accidents, causing 21 deaths.
Source: BBC
