Pair from Paris region had been skiing at Val d’Isère resort in area closed because of avalanche risk

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A father and his 11-year-old daughter were killed when an avalanche swept them away while they were skiing in the French Alps, rescue officials have said.

They said the man, 43, and his daughter were from the Paris region and had been skiing in the Pisaillas glacier area of the Val d’Isère resort that had been closed because of the avalanche risk.

They were found in a hollow surrounded by cliffs at an altitude of about 2,930 metres (9,670 feet) in the early afternoon on Sunday.

The exact circumstances of the accident were not yet known, and prosecutors in nearby Albertville have opened an investigation.

A cross-country skier was also killed in the region in an off-piste area near the Giettaz-en-Aravis ski resort.

Two skiers who were caught in an another avalanche in Switzerland near the border with France were rescued with only minor injuries, police in the canton of Valais said.

Police initially reported that 10 people were missing in the incident but revised that down to two, saying a member of the group who had called in the accident was unaware that most of the group were safe.

The avalanche took place at an altitude of 2,500 metres in an area called the Col de Fenestral.