Snowboarders killed in French avalanches

Three snowboarders practising off-piste died in avalanches that swept through the French Alps this weekend, police said.

Two snowboarders were killed at Tignes on Saturday in a rush of snow that sent them tumbling into a frozen lake, police said. Both were from the Paris region, but their identities were not released.

Another snowboarder caught in the same avalanche was rescued unharmed.

At the Val d’Isere resort, a man died on Saturday while snowboarding off-piste at an altitude of 7,260ft. The man, whose name was not released, was already in cardiac arrest when rescuers dug him out. He died en route to the hospital.

Ski officials detected other avalanches at the resorts of Les Arcs 2000 and Aussois.