PARIS—Four skiers were killed and another injured in an avalanche in the French Alps on Friday and their guide was held for questioning, authorities said. The group of six people was on a ski touring expedition in an off-trail area near Entraunes, close to the Italian border in the southern Alps. Prosecutor Jean-Michel Pretre of Nice said in remarks shown on French television that they were “seniors,” all with experience in backcountry skiing. A judicial inquiry was opened into manslaughter and involuntary injury, and the guide was taken in for questioning, the prosecutor said. French authorities had warned against a high risk of avalanches in the Alps following heavy snowfall in recent days, and the prosecutor called that “a decisive element.”

Source: thestar March 03, 2018 00:28 UTC