DEAD BRITISH CLIMBERS IN ALPS AVALANCE NAMED
Two British climbers from the same North Yorkshire village have been named as among those killed in an avalanche in the French Alps.John Taylor, 48, and Steve Barber, 47, from Upper Poppleton, west of York, were among nine people who died on Mont Maudit, near Chamonix, on Thursday. They were climbing to raise money for St Leonard's Hospice.
A third Briton killed in the avalanche was named on Thursday evening as experienced climber Roger Payne.
- Mr Payne, originally from Hammersmith, west London, was a former general secretary of the British Mountaineering Council (BMC).
- The trio had been part of a 28-strong group traversing Mont Maudit before dawn in an attempt to reach the summit of Mont Blanc.
- According to the Prefecture de la Haute-Savoie, two people from Spain, three Germans and one Swiss were the others killed in the avalanche.
- A church service is to be held in Chamonix on Saturday in memory of the dead climbers, French Interior Minister Manuel Valls said.
FRENCH ALPS AVALANCE KILLED SIX
CHAMONIX, French - An avalanche near the French Alpine ski resort of Chamonix has left six people dead and eight injured, police say.The alarm was sounded shortly before 05:30 local time (03:30 GMT) by one of the injured on the slopes of Mont Maudit, reports say.
Foreigners are thought to be among the victims. Emergency services have begun an operation to help the injured.
The mountain is known as a popular route for summer tourists heading for the summit of Mont Blanc.
The climbers are believed to have been roped together in several groups when the avalanche struck.
All of the injured have been evacuated by helicopter to nearby hospitals, as police supported by search dogs continued to look for survivors. - Mont Maudit - meaning the cursed mountain - is the third-highest peak in the Mont Blanc massif range, rising to 4,465m (14,650 ft).
- A Despite being popular as a tourist destination with thousands of Britons in both the winter and summer, the Mont Blanc range is one of the most lethal in the world.
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