Mont Blanc Peak. (Source: AFP/VNA)
French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin confirmed that four people died and many others were injured in an avalanche that occurred on April 9 near the summit of Mont Blanc, located in the southeast of France and in the mountains. Alps mountains.
On Twitter, Mr Darmanin said: "Rescuers are still working and the number of casualties mentioned above is only temporary."
Meanwhile, the provincial government of Haute-Savoie in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region said that in addition to the four victims, nine others were "involved" in the avalanche 1km long and 100m wide.
The nine people, who have not been identified, crashed while traveling near the Armancette Glacier either individually or in groups.
Earlier, the French National Meteorological Agency (Meteo France) did not issue any avalanche warnings in the area.
The rescue force has deployed a helicopter and many sniffer dogs specializing in mountain rescue work to the scene and is still scanning the avalanche area to find victims still buried, although The Haute-Savoie provincial government did not rule out the risk of further avalanches.
In 2014, two brothers of the same family were killed in an avalanche in the same area of the Armancette Glacier. These two young men in their 20s are both experienced climbers.
Earlier, on April 8, there were nine mountaineers injured in an avalanche in the Swiss Alps.
According to police, the avalanche occurred near the 4,000m high Alphubel peak in the Saas-Fee area, in the canton of Wallis, southwestern Switzerland, near the Italian border.
The site is located near Switzerland's famous Matterhorn mountain and the ski resort of Zermatt.
Rescue forces were immediately deployed to the scene and rescued 16 climbers, of which 9 injured victims were taken to hospital.
Swiss authorities have recorded 15 deaths in avalanches from January-October last year to the end of March this year in Watchland.