Deadly avalanche in Auvergne region of central France

Four people have been killed in an avalanche in the mountainous Auvergne region of central France, local authorities said.

The avalanche took place on Sunday at an altitude of 1,600 metres (5,250 feet) above the village of Mont-Dore in an area known as the Val d’Enfer, the prefecture of the Puy-de-Dôme department said in a statement.

Three other people were injured after a major search operation mobilising 50 people was under way, it said.

The local newspaper La Montagne said that those hit by the avalanche were ski mountaineers from a nearby club who had gone on an off-piste route with a guide.

The mountains of the Auvergne, many of which are of volcanic origin, are not as high as those in the Alps or Pyrenees further south but can be highly remote with extensive snow cover.