Three skiers, including two tourists, have died after being caught in an avalanche that surprised holidaymakers at a popular European ski resort. 

They were killed in an avalanche at the plush Val-d’Isere ski resort in France, and it is understood they were swept away in a violent snowslide in an off-piste section. The ski resort’s tourist office said among the dead are one French and two foreign skiers, The Sun reported. 

With a message shared on X today, a local authority said: “The heavy precipitation of the last few hours has led to accumulations of 60 cm to 1 metre of snow in the Savoyard massifs. The return of milder weather this Friday morning could encourage some mountain users to head out.

“The orange alert ended this morning, downgraded to yellow level. However, almost all of the Savoyard massifs are classified at a high avalanche risk of 4/5 by Météo France. In this context and following these unprecedented snowfall amounts, the Prefect of Savoie formally advises against off-piste activities, ski touring and snowshoeing. They urge mountain users to strictly follow the instructions provided by professionals and the ski patrol services.”

Last month, a British skier has been killed by an avalanche in the French Alps. The man, believed to be in his 50s, was skiing off-piste at the La Plagne resort in south-eastern France, the resort said in a statement.

Rescue teams received an avalanche alert at 1.57pm on Sunday and immediately went to the site, the resort said. A team of around 52 people, including medics, ski school instructors and a helicopter-deployed piste dog, were called in.

The man was found after 50 minutes of searching under 2.5 metres of snow, the resort said. He was with a group when the avalanche struck, but was not equipped with an avalanche transceiver and was not with a professional instructor, it added. La Plagne said its thoughts were with the man’s family.