Two Italian women have died in an avalanche and the bodies of two French climbers have been found in a crevasse after climbing accidents in the French Alps, local officials say.
The two Italians were among a group of at least seven climbers caught up in the avalanche as they were ascending Mont Blanc du Tacul, at an altitude of 4200 metres, the gendarmerie in the Haute-Savoie region said.
Rescuers later found the two women, aged 37 and 41 and both from Italy's Piedmont region, dead under the snow.
An Italian mountain guide was rescued alive from under the snow, but suffered serious injuries and was in intensive care in a hospital in nearby Annecy.
A fourth climber was also missing after the avalanche and a search was under way. The rest of the party appeared to have escaped unharmed.
Meanwhile the bodies of two French climbers - a man and a woman both in their fifties - were found on Tuesday morning at the bottom of a 20-metre crevasse on Roche de la Muzelle, a mountain in the Ecrins massif of the Alps.
Mountain rescue services in the Isere region said the couple, described as "amateur climbers", had left a refuge on Monday morning and appeared to have fallen into the crevasse on their descent from the summit.
The woman was identified as a 51-year-old from the southeastern French city of Chambery. No further details were provided about the man's identity.
