Bad weather has halted a rescue operation for four skiers missing after an avalanche in the French Alps near Mont Blanc.
Emergency crews said that a block of ice around 165 feet by 330 broke off today near the Grands Mulets refuge. The missing skiers were three Austrians and a French soldier.
A fifth person injured in the incident, also an Austrian, was winched to safety by a rescue helicopter and later transferred to hospital in the Swiss city of Geneva.
Mountain rescue teams were sent to the scene to search for the four, who were carrying emergency equipment designed to help rescuers locate them.
However, authorities in the town of Chamonix said the rescue mission was later suspended because of bad weather.
"There was no visibility, and snow was falling where the avalanche took place," one of the rescuers said. "It was impossible to continue the search and we will start again when the weather permits."
Emergency workers have said the rescue efforts would take some time because an estimated 33 feet of ice was dumped by the avalanche and was thought to be covering the four.
AFP