Four skiers were reported missing early today after an avalanche in a range of the French Alps including Mont Blanc, Western Europe's highest mountain, rescuers said.
Emergency crews said that a block of ice around 50 metres by 100 broke off this morning near the Grands Mulets refuge at an altitude of about 4,000 metres.
A Swiss guide raised the alarm at about 8.30 a.m. (7.30 a.m. Irish time).
A fifth person injured in the incident was winched to safety by a rescue helicopter and hospitalised in nearby Sallanches.
Frederic Lorenzio, who works at Grands Mulets, said he believed all the skiers involved in the accident were Austrian.
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 10 metres of ice was dumped by the avalanche and was thought to be covering the four.
AFP