Three people hiking on skis were killed in two separate avalanches in the French Alps yesterday, rescue officials confirmed today.
A couple fell 656 feet to their deaths while ascending the Grand-Mont peak in the Savoie region after an icy outcropping they were standing on gave way, a mountain rescue official said.
An Italian man was killed as he climbed with friends in the Haute-Alpes region.
The friends tried to rescue the man, in his sixties, but he died before help could arrive, officials said.
An average of 25-30 people are killed in avalanches in France in the winter season.
