Two British men and a French skier have died after an avalanche swept through the Manchet valley near Val d'Isère on Friday, authorities confirmed.
The British pair were part of a group of five skiing off-piste with an instructor when the avalanche struck, a resort spokeswoman told the BBC.
The French national, skiing alone, was also caught in the slide at around 11:30 local time (10:30 GMT), according to Albertville prosecutor Benoit Bachelet. Another British skier from the group suffered minor injuries.
A spokesperson for the Foreign Office confirmed that officials are aware of the deaths of the two Britons and are "in contact with the local authorities and stand ready to offer consular assistance."
The Albertville public prosecutor’s office has opened a manslaughter investigation, which will be carried out by CRS Alpes mountain rescue police. The ski instructor, who survived unharmed, tested negative for alcohol and drugs, Bachelet said.
Witnesses Antoine Martignon and his wife were in La Vallée du Manchet on Friday morning and captured footage of the avalanche. They had initially intended to ski at Val d'Isère but found the slopes too crowded and chose to walk instead.
"I was watching people free riding and skiing off-piste, and thought it looks very dangerous," said Martignon. "In 20 seconds there was an avalanche, it went down and took people below."
This tragedy comes amid a particularly treacherous winter for the French Alps. Val d'Isère had already recorded avalanches earlier this season, including one fatality at nearby Tignes last month.
France’s national weather service issued a red alert for avalanche risk across the Savoie region on Thursday, which was lifted on Friday. However, the risk remained high across the Alps due to "very unstable snow cover."
The avalanche followed Storm Nils, which swept across France the previous day, depositing between 60cm and 100cm of snow. Slopes manager Luc Nicolino at La Plagne highlighted the ongoing danger: "We have had some very complicated, very unstable snow since the beginning of the season. It's a kind of mille-feuille with many hidden, fragile layers."
