Hiker feared he would be shot by al-Hilli hitman

A walker has described his horror on arrival at the remote spot where a British man was murdered alongside his wife and mother-in-law in a shooting spree in the French Alps.

The man, named only as Philippe D, 41, recalled he was unable to rouse seven-year-old Zainab al-Hilli who survived the ordeal, believing she was dead as she lay on the ground close to the family car.

He said the carnage in front of him resembled a scene from a film and he described an eerie silence in the secluded car park where four people were shot to death.