A British mother and her son have been killed by an avalanche on Mont Blanc in France.
The accident - involving a mum, 45, and her 22-year-old son - took place on Thursday afternoon (28 December) on the Argentière Glacier.
A hiker was also killed in a separate area, as another skier, reportedly an instructor, was left injured.
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The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) said it was supporting the family of two Britons who died.
An FCDO spokesperson said: “We are supporting the family of two British people who died in France and are in contact with the local authorities.”
The avalanche travelled through an off-piste section of the Saint-Gervais-les-Bains ski resort on Thursday as a search -and-rescue effort was deployed.
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The five-hour mission involved 20 rescuers, two dog teams, a doctor and two helicopters.
Bonneville public prosecutor’s office said the avalanche may have been caused by cross-country skiers who were uphill.
It added that a manslaughter investigation has been opened by police in Chamonix and that post-mortem examinations will take place in the coming days at the medical-legal institute in Grenoble.
Alexandre Merlin, director of the Saint Gervais led Bains ski area, told MailOnline: "The snow conditions are very unstable, it's difficult to know what will hold or not, the snow cover is not compacted and it is rather dangerous to go out.
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"Overall, you shouldn't go off the slopes, we have little snow, the slopes are well maintained, but outside, there are stones, and there can be unstable areas."
Saint-Gervais Mayor Jean-Marc Peillex told BFM television: "It rained, it snowed, it was warm. There are enough marked paths to ski on.
"It's terrible what happened. A family is decimated, and we are very sad in Saint-Gervais."
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A spokesperson from the Haute-Savoie regional government said: "An avalanche 400m long occurred this Thursday, December 28, 2023 at 3.30pm, in the off-piste area, at an altitude of 2,300 meters and near the Mont-Joly chairlift located in the Mont-Joly ski area. Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, involving eight people.
"A major search and rescue system was immediately deployed by the emergency services. slopes of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains, reinforced and commanded by the high-level gendarmerie platoon mountain (PGHM) of Chamonix.
"The final report shows two victims dead, one lightly injured and five other people unhurt.
"Yves Le Breton, prefect of Haute-Savoie would like to send his sincere condolences to the loved ones of the victims and his thoughts to those involved in this avalanche.
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"He also thanks all the personnel who made it possible to carry out the search operations."
Anish Vij