Zeenews Bureau
Paris: An avalanche which came rolling down from the height of 4,000 meters from a mountain in Mont Blanc range in the French Alps killed at least nine trekkers hurting eleven and leaving four others unaccounted for, the French government said on Thursday.
Rescuers, with the help of helicopter and dogs scored the high-altitude area and found four climbers, two Spaniards and two Britons.
The climbers, who were said to be 28 in number and belonged to different nationalities,were struck by an avalanche at Mount Maudit - the "cursed mountain" in Mont Blanc range near the border with Switzerland.
Nationals from Switzerland, Germany, Spain, France, Denmark and Serbia were believed to be involved in the climbing expedition.
Out of a total of 28 climbers, nine were dead, four missing, eleven hurt and four rescued.
The dead were from Britain, Germany, Spain and Switzerland and the 11 injured were hospitalized in nearby Sallanche, according to the gendarme service in the French mountain town of Chamonix.
French Interior Minister Manuel Valls visited the area and said the incident was "catastrophic" and that an investigation was begun into the matter.
Mont Maudit, which is the third-highest peak in the Mont Blanc massif range, means the cursed mountain in French and
eight climbers were killed in an avalanche here in 2008.
With Agency Inputs
