Three Britons killed in ‘catastrophic’ avalanche in French Alps

Three Britons were among nine climbers killed in a “catastrophic” alpine avalanche, according to the French authorities.

A major rescue operation was launched following the disaster on Mont Maudit, in the Mont Blanc range, near Chamonix.

The Prefecture de la Haute-Savoie said in addition to the British climbers, two Spaniards, three Germans and one Swiss person also died.

A further two Britons and two Spaniards, who had been reported as missing, were confirmed to be alive and well last night after they reported to the local police station,

Roger Payne, the former general secretary of the BMC (British Mountaineering Council), was among those killed.

Yesterday Dave Turnbull, the current BMC chief executive, said the mountaineering world was “shocked and saddened” to learn of his death.

“Roger was one of the UK’s most enthusiastic and respected climbers with a track record of Alpine and Himalayan mountaineering stretching back to the 1980s,” he said. “Our thoughts are with Roger’s friends and family – in particular his wife Julie-Ann.”

Several dozen gendarmes and other rescuers, along with two helicopters, worked to pull the dead and injured from the mountain after the alarm was raised at 5:25am yesterday.

French interior minister Manuel Valls visited the area and flew over the avalanche site.

He said: “My thoughts are with those victims, with the British and Spanish and German victims, Swiss victims, and my thoughts are with their families who have discovered this painful tragedy. It is a personal one.

“Regarding the circumstances of this avalanche, the investigation is under way and the prosecutor general is looking into this. We have seen many accidents on the Mont Blanc mountain but we should note that the number of victims and those who have disappeared and the injured is very high. This accident is catastrophic.”

A spokeswoman for the prefecture said the local gendarmerie were alerted that two groups of climbers were in trouble on the northern face of Mont Maudit at 4,000 metres.

She said that at 5:45am the emergency services were told it was a “slab” avalanche which had hit several groups of mountaineers who were roped together .

The spokeswoman added that nine people were taken to hospital in Sallanches with minor injuries. A total of 28 people left a climbing hut to attempt the route.

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We are aware of the avalanche in the French Alps near Chamonix today and reports that three British nationals have died.

“We are urgently seeking information from the rescue ­authorities.”