A British woman has been killed in an avalanche while hiking in the French Alps, it has emerged.
The 45-year-old, who has not been named, was buried in a pile of snow following the incident on Mount Blanc, the Mirror reports.
The woman was hiking atop the mountain range in the Mont Blanc massif in the Chamonix valley with her partner and a guide when tragedy struck on Saturday afternoon.
The partner and guide were unharmed as the avalanche was triggered around 5.30pm, but despite intervention by emergency services the woman sadly died, according to mountain police.
An investigation is now underway following the incident. Meanwhile, skiers and holiday makers have been urged to take considerable care if heading to the alps, as they have been warned that the chances of avalanches are going to "increase dramatically".
A second avalanche was triggered on Sunday in a neighbouring ski area, and a search is now underway to find any possible victims, it has been reported.
At lunchtime today, the second snowslide was triggered in the Brevent ski area, also in the Chamonix valley, where witnesses say the avalanche hit the ski run.
The valley is now on heightened alert following fresh snowfall. The mountain has also been closed and rescuers are combing the area to search for any possible victims.
Ski instructors in the valley were called to help with the operation, where one eye witness said: “There was a woman caught up to her hips in the slide.
"A search was started by skiers and snowboarders. Then the experts took over."
On Sunday, the avalanche risk in the French Alps was deemed three out of five, meaning “considerable".
Meanwhile, the Avalanche Academy, an avalanche training school in Chamonix, has urged snow enthusiasts to take precautions, saying: “There’s a huge amount of snow coming to Chamonix this week, which means the avalanche hazard is going to increase dramatically.”
Don't miss the latest news from around Scotland and beyond - Sign up to our daily newsletter here .
