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3 Dead Following an Avalanche in the Ecrins National Park
Avalanche at over 3000m kills 3 and leaves other party members stranded
An avalanche at around 15:00 yesterday afternoon has sadly take the lives of three members of a group of 10 people, and seriously injuring another.
Briançon rescue teams (members of the PGHM and around 30 firefighters) were quickly mobilised to the site, in the Emil Pic pass of the Ecrins National park, by helicopter and on foot.
The party of 10 were made up of Austrians, a German, an Italian and their guide. They were believed to be tackling a steep climb when the avalanche occurred close to the Refuge des Ecrins at around 3200m.
The surviving members of the party were take to the refuge where they have spent the night, as high wind and adverse conditions meant that they were unable to descend. Around 20 other people are also in the refuge. They are expected to return down today.
The badly injured member of the party has been flown to Grenoble hospital.
France's interior minister Bernard Cazeneuve, expressed his sincere condolences last night, to the families of the deceased and the survivors, wishing the injured member of the group a speedy recovery.
