British mother and son killed while skiing after avalanche swept through slopes of Mont Blanc

An investigation was opened into the cause of the avalanche. Credit: AP

An avalanche on Mont Blanc swept two British skiers - believed to be mother and son - to their deaths and left a third person injured, local authorities said.

At approximately 3.30pm on Thursday a torrent of snow piled through an off-piste area of the Saint-Gervais-les-Bains ski resort.

Dozens of mountain rescuers set out to search for the skiers trapped, finding a British man and a British woman dead, and one person injured, the administration for the Haute-Savoie region said in a statement.

A Foreign Office spokesperson said: “We are supporting the family of two British people who died in France and are in contact with the local authorities.”

The pair are reportedly a 54-year-old mother and her 22-year-old son.

An investigation was opened into the cause of the avalanche.

Saint-Gervais Mayor Jean-Marc Peillex said the weather conditions were too unstable for such risky outings.

“It rained, it snowed, it was warm. There are enough marked paths to ski on,’’ he told BFM television.

‘’It’s terrible what happened. A family is decimated, and we are very sad in Saint-Gervais.’’

The news comes after a 31-year-old hiker was found dead after falling on the slope of the nearby Ecrins mountain range.

The hiker had veered away from hiking paths to look at mountain goats with a friend, local broadcaster France-Bleu cited rescuers as saying.

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