Four snowboarders have died in an avalanche in the French Alps.
The victims, all reportedly French, were walking in an off-piste area of the resort of Tignes when they were hit by a massive wall of snow.
Images from the scene showed dozens of people with poles searching for survivors.
The victims were a 49-year-old instructor, a 48-year-old father, his 15-year-old son and a 19-year-old half-brother.
Albertville deputy prefect Nicolas Martrenchard said: "We lament the four deceased victims and we think there will be only four. The search continues. It was an avalanche of a huge scale."
A rescue worker said the bodies of the victims were retrieved by early afternoon.
The avalanche, said to have been triggered by a group of skiers higher on the slope, is the worst on French slopes this season.
Experts said a strong wind and warmer temperatures had made an avalanche more likely.
Three people had died in incidents in the French Alps and Pyrenees this year before Monday's avalanche.
An avalanche in the Apennines in central Italy last month left 29 dead after a hotel was crushed by tonnes of snow.
