Father and two sons killed alongside tour guide in French Alps avalanche after being engulfed during half-term snowboarding trip
Emergency helicopters rushed to rescue the skiers, who were off-piste above Lake Tignes
AT LEAST four skiers including three members of a family have died after being struck by an avalanche in a French Alps resort popular with Brits.
Emergency helicopters rushed to find the group and their guide, who were off-piste at about 2,100m above Lake Tignes on the Lavachet slope.
Another five people were feared missing as night fell.
The confirmed victims, all reportedly French nationals, were snowboarding off-piste at the resort when they were hit by a massive wall of snow.
They were a father aged 48, his 15-year-old son, the son's 19-year-old half-brother and a guide, according to reports. The family were regulars at the resort.
The snowboarders, who had unstrapped their boards and were advancing on foot down the slope, were only a short distance from a ski lift when the 400-metre-wide avalanche ripped down the mountain.
Images from the scene showed dozens of people with poles searching for survivors.
Two of the victims were pulled alive from the snow but died later, according to local media reports.
The avalanche, said to have been triggered by a group of skiers higher on the slope, is the worst on French snow this season.
One local worker, who did not want to be named, said: "The Lavachet Wall where it happened is a very dangerous bit of off-piste.
"There is a huge trench at the bottom that was dug to protect the town.
"It is a sad day in Tignes. Everyone is really sad and in shock - and of course praying it's not any of their friends in there.
"I've been here on and off for 18 years so not the first time I've seen this sadly.
"But the security de piste team are amazing here - they work round the clock when snow is heavy trying to make it as safe as possible."
The incident happened at around 2,100 metres (6,900 feet) at 9.35am this morning.
Eight people had registered for the session with an instructor, according to reports.
Vicky Allen, a chalet rep, said: "There is a huge search effort still out - it's a very sad day for all of us working in the resort. It's devastating."
Richard Miller, an IT consultant from Cambridge, said: "I saw the piste patrol scrambling with dogs so suspected something was happening.
"Some of the lifts were closed this afternoon after staff were diverted to the search.
"There are still lots of the patrol searching but a lot less people than earlier and they seemed to be scaling back."
has reported that there was "a family of five people at least" in the group - with three of them dead.
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According to the head of CRS post in Courchevel, the avalanche took place in an area where the snow stacks and can not be evacuated.
It could take some time to find the buried victims, officials warned.
Local high mountain police spokesman Emmanuel Dubost said ‘two helicopters are the scene’ trying to find the others, only two of whom are so far accounted for.
One was in a critical condition as he was pulled out of the snow at around 1.30pm, but ‘most of the others’ were still buried.
He said rescue workers supported by sniffer dogs were working frantically to try and dig bodies out.
Mr Dubost said the identities and nationalities of those involved had not been established, but they were all thought to be advanced skiers.
One of those involved in the accident was a qualified mountain ski guide, said Mr Dubost.
He said it had been a black weekend in the Alps, with two skiers dying in the Haute-Savoie department of France.
The first had been skiing off piste in Praz-sur-Arly sector of the mountains, when he too was hit by an avalanche.
Another skier died in the same manner at La Clusaz, after being unable to get away from a vast moving mound of impacted snow and ice.
The avalanche has come at a particularly busy time of year, with many families celebrating half term on the slopes.
The Geordie Shore cast are filming at the ski resort at the moment.
It is not known if any of the stars have been caught up in the tragedy.
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