European climbers killed in Mount Blanc avalanche
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STORYLINE A summer avalanche on Mont Blanc swept nine European climbers to their deaths and left 11 injured and four others missing, French authorities said. The gendarme service in the Alpine city of Chamonix said the victims were from Britain, Germany, Spain and Switzerland. It said two climbers were rescued and search efforts are under way to find the missing. All were part of an expedition to climb Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps, when they got caught in an avalanche early on Thursday on the north face of Mont Maudit. A group of 28 climbers from Switzerland, Germany, Spain, France, Denmark and Serbia were believed to be in the expedition. Several dozen gendarmes and other rescuers worked to pull the dead and injured from the mountain and search for the missing but the risk of a new avalanche complicated the search. The 11 injured were hospitalised in nearby Sallanches, the gendarme service said. A slab of ice broke off the mountain, causing the avalanche, authorities said. "That sheet then pulled down the group of climbers below and I should say that the incline was very, very steep on this northern face," said Colonel Bertrand Francois, Haute-Savoie Gendarmerie Group Commander. Some climbers managed to turn back in time, regional authorities said. Some of the climbers were with professional guides, others were independents. French investigators will examine the circumstances of the deaths. The Mont Blanc massif is a popular area for climbers, hikers and tourists but a dangerous one, with dozens dying on it each year. Chamonix, a top centre for climbing, hosted the first Winter Olympics in 1924. Regional authorities had warned climbers earlier this summer to be careful because of an unusually snowy spring. = You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/369be2edbf5ad14b72c6f88e4fefc313 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
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