Avalanche on Mont Maudit claims nine lives in French Alps
Most of the dead found after the early morning avalanche on Mont Maudit, which translates as "Cursed Mountain", were Europeans, officials said. It was the deadliest disaster in the region in a decade.
The nine people known to have died in the avalanche were three Britons, three Germans, two Spaniards and a Swiss, said local police Colonel Bertrand Francois.
Four more climbers believed to be missing have been accounted for, with two having cancelled their climb and two having chosen a different route, police said Top Lebron XII For Sale.
"The toll will remain at nine dead," said Emmanuel Vegas, a lieutenant with Chamonix police.
"There are no more people on the list of those missing."
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One of the injured sounded the alert around 0325 GMT (1.25pm AEST) after the avalanche on Mont Maudit, the massif's third-highest peak.
It rises to 4465 metres and is considered one of the more difficult paths to the summit of Mont Blanc that at 4810 metres is western Europe's highest peak.
The avalanche was thought to have been triggered when a climber caused a sheet of snow and ice to break off the mountainside.
Officials said the victims had been in a group of more than 20 people, including guides, who had left a base at 3600 metres around 1.30am local time for the climb.
Yesterday the police thought four more - two Britons and two Spaniards - were missing, based on the guest list of a refuge from which the alpinists started out on their ascent.
However, the two Britons thought missing started from the refuge but turned around, escaping the deadly slide, he said.
And the two Spaniards thought missing "resold their spots in the refuge to two other Spaniards who unfortunately died in the avalanche," he said.
Nine more climbers were lightly injured and treated at a local hospital.
French Interior Minister Manuel Valls said he was heading to the scene to oversee operations.
"The interior minister wants to assure the families of his deep sympathy and full support," he said.
Mr Rumigny said it was believed that a "40-centimetre sheet came loose" from the mountainside, prompting the avalanche.
Weather service Meteo France said there were strong winds in the area, reaching up 70 kilometres per hour Nike KD 7 Discount.
About 50 rescuers, including those from Italy, had been involved in searching the area of the Mont Blanc massif at the height of more than 4000 metres, where snow drifts in some cases were up to six metres thick.
It is the deadliest climbing disaster in at least a decade in France.
In August 2008, eight climbers - four Germans, three Swiss and an Austrian guide - were swept away after blocks of ice broke off Mont Blanc du Tacul, prompting an avalanche.
Thousands of tourists flock to the French Alps every year for sports including mountain climbing and skiing, but every year some fall victim to accidents.
A Norwegian cross-country skier died in April after being caught up in an avalanche on Mont Blanc, only about a month after a Canadian skier died after plunging into a 20-metre crevice on the mountain KD 7 Shoes - Fast Delivery All Over The World.
