At least four people have been killed in an avalanche in south-east France, police say.

The avalanche hit near the ski resort of Entraunes, in the Alpes-Maritimes department near the border with Italy, at around 13:00 local time (12:00 GMT).

One person is thought to be missing and another is injured.

The avalanche struck in an area where people were skiing off-piste near the Mercantour national park, local media report.

There have been a number of deadly avalanches in the French Alps this winter.

A father and daughter were killed last week whilst skiing on a closed piste near Val d'Isere. </s> Three skiers are reported to have been killed, two more are missing and two were injured in an avalanche at Val Vény, near Courmayeur in the Mont Blanc region of the Italian Alps. Officials say those affected by the avalanche, which struck at about midday on Thursday (2nd March) came from Italy, Sweden, Belgium and Germany.

The victims are reported to have been in an off-piste area making their way through a fresh fall of snow when the avalanche struck. The two injured skiers were hit by large rocks and have been taken to hospital in Aosta by helicopter, the BBC reported. Skiers went to the scene and dug into the deep snow to try and find those missing.

The avalanche risk in the region had been judged at three out of five on Thursday morning before the avalanche struck. This was due to a number of factors including fresh snow and high winds which caused drifting. A second avalanche struck the same area on Thursday afternoon, but two off-piste skiers who were caught up in it were not injured. Courmayeur is known for its difficult skiing.

There have been a number of avalanches in the Alps over the winter, including one at the French resort of Tignes on 14th February 2017. Four snowboarders were killed including a father and his two sons. On 16th February six climbers died in two separate incidents in the Italian and French Alps when ice walls collapsed due to unseasonably warm weather.

Twenty-nine people died when a huge avalanche buried Hotel Rigopiano in central Italy on 18th January 2017. </s> Italian alpine rescuers say three skiers have been killed in avalanche in the northern Italian Alps near the French border that injured another five people. Milan Walter of the national alpine rescue corps says the group was back-country skiing when the avalanche was triggered at Plan de la Gabba, 5 kilometers southwest of Courmayeur, around midday.

Start the conversation, or Read more at News Max. </s> Nice (France) (AFP) - At least four skiers were killed Friday in an avalanche in the French Alps, the deadliest of the winter so far, police said.

Another person was injured and has been hospitalised, while their guide escaped unharmed from the avalanche in the area around Entraunes in the southern Alps, local authorities in the Alpes-Maritimes department said.

They were swept away while skiing off-piste near the Mercantour National Park, not far from France's border with Italy.

"These valleys are highly popular with off-piste skiers because it's beautiful and wild," said Christophe Ollivier, a local official in nearby Vesubie.

The skiers had been staying at a guesthouse in Estenc and had started out toward the Cayolle pass with their guide at around 10:00 am (0900 GMT).

The French Alps have experienced heavy snowfall since the start of the week, as a blast of icy weather from Siberia -- dubbed "the Beast from the East" -- engulfs Europe.

"A lot of snow had fallen these past few days and the warmer weather since Thursday has destabilised the fresh snowpack," said Jean-Gabriel Delacroy of the Alpes-Maritimes prefecture.

The avalanche risk for the region is high, currently at four on a scale of one to five, according to the Meteo France weather agency.

Deputy prefect Gwenaelle Chapuis told BFM television that a police inquiry would determine "if this was recklessness or not".

A total of 20 people have now died since France's ski season began in November, and 12 have been injured.

On February 15 an avalanche in the Pyrenees mountains killed three skiers. </s> Four skiers have been killed and another is missing after an avalanche in the southern Alps, French authorities said.

Another skier was injured following the incident in Entraunes, near the Italian border.

During a visit to the southern city of Nice, French prime minister Edouard Philippe told reporters that rescue operations are still ongoing.

Local media said the skiers, including a guide, were off-trail in a remote area of the Mercantour national park.

According to reports, the avalanche was triggered just before 1pm local time on Friday.

It is the deadliest to hit France this winter after an avalanche in the Pyrenees mountains on February 15 that killed three skiers.

A total of 16 people have died since France's ski season began in November, and 11 others have been injured.

The French Alps have experienced heavy snowfall since the start of the week, as a blast of icy weather from Siberia - dubbed 'the Beast from the East' - engulfs Europe.

French authorities had warned against a high risk of avalanche in the Alps as a result of the snow. </s> PARIS (Reuters) - An avalanche in the French Alps killed four people on Friday and injured one, while another person was missing, police said, adding that a mountain rescue operation was underway.

The avalanche hit an area outside the ski slopes in the Entraunes area, French police said in a statement on Twitter.

Last month an avalanche swept away two skiers, a man and his 11-year-old daughter, in the alpine resort of Val d’Isere, while four others died in separate incidents in the Pyrenees. </s> Four skiers were killed and another is missing after an avalanche occurred in Entraunes

A sixth was injured following the region’s deadliest avalanche this winter, in Entraunes, near the French Alps’ Italian border.

The group, which included a guide, was skiing off-piste in the remote region of the Mercantour national park when the avalanche struck, authorities said.

France had warned fresh snow brought in by the “Beast from the East” weather front increased the risk of an avalanche.

The latest tragedy brings the death toll of the French ski season to 16. </s> At least four skiers died in an avalanche in the southern French Alps on Friday, authorities have said.

The avalanche occurred at the ski resort of Entraunes, on the edge of the Mercantour National Park in the Alpes-Maritimes department.

The local gendarmes said that as well as the four fatalities there was also another person missing and one person injured.

According to reports the avalanche was triggered just before 1pm.

Georges-Francois Leclerc, chief of the Alpes-Maritimes region, said the avalanche had struck people who were ski touring with their guide in an off-piste area near the Mercantour national park.

A rescue operation was under way. The warning level for the risk of avalanches in the area was at level 4 out of 5 on Friday, meaning snowslides were highly likely.

The south east of France has been hit by heavy snow in recent days that even saw the resort of Nice covered in a white blanket.

However temperatures have warned up in the last 24 hours which can increase the risk of avalanches in the mountains.

There have been several deadly avalanches in France this winter. Only last week a father and daughter were swept to the deaths whilst skiing on a closed piste near Val d'Isere.

That tragedy came just days after three skiers were killed by an avalanche in the Pyrenees.

A total of 16 people have died since France's ski season began in November, and 11 others have been injured. </s> Four skiers were killed and another injured in an avalanche in the French Alps on Friday and their guide was held for questioning, authorities said.

The group of six people was on a ski touring expedition in an off-trail area near Entraunes, close to the Italian border in the southern Alps.

The identities of the skiers were not immediately released. Prosecutor Jean-Michel Pretre of Nice said in remarks shown on French television that they were "seniors," all with experience in backcountry skiing. He said the guide knew the area well.

A judicial inquiry was opened into manslaughter and involuntary injury, and the guide was taken in for questioning, the prosecutor said.

The cause of the avalanche was unknown. French authorities had warned against a high risk of avalanches in the Alps following heavy SNOW fall in recent days, and the prosecutor called that "a decisive element."

The Mountain Guides Union said the group was in a non-steep area of the Mercantour national park. In a statement, the union said the guide was also buried by the avalanche but managed to get out.

An avalanche farther north in the French Alps on Friday killed a 25-year-old woman at La Grave, according to local media reports.

More than a dozen people have died in avalanches in the French Alps this ski season, in addition to those killed in other parts of the mountain range.
An avalanche in the Alps kills three skiers and injures two in Valais, Switzerland.