A British woman has been killed on Mont Blanc, after an avalanche buried her under a pile of snow.
The 45-year-old, who has not been named, was hiking in the French Alps over the weekend, as emergency services have confirmed the death.
Meanwhile, skiers and holiday makers have been urged to take considerable care if heading to the alps, as they have been warned that the "avalanche hazard is going to increase dramatically".
On Saturday afternoon, 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.
The other two people were involved in the incident, but were unharmed as the avalanche was triggered around 5.30pm.
Sadly, the woman died after being buried under a slab of snow.
Despite intervention from the emergency services, “the person unfortunately died” according to the mountain police.
An investigation is underway following the incident, and an autopsy has been requested by the judicial authorities.
Reportedly, a second avalanche was triggered on Sunday in a neighbouring ski area, and a search is now underway to find any possible victims.
At lunchtime today, the second snowslide was triggered in the Brevent ski area, also in the Chamonix valley, where witnesses say that it 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."
European ski resorts have had a poor start to the ski season, as during the new year period half of the pistes in the French Alps were closed.
However, fresh snowfall during the past week - and a further prediction of more than 70cm of snow at 2000 metres on Sunday and Monday - has put the popular ski resort of Chamonix on alert.
On Sunday, the avalanche risk 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.”
