Skiers have been urged to take extra care and stay on marked pistes following the deaths of two schoolchildren and a Ukranian tourist in an avalance in the French Alps.
Three others from the same school group – two pupils and a teacher – were seriously injured after the tragedy which happened at the popular resort of Les Deux Alpes.
The avalanche struck the skiers on a black run which had been closed since the start of the season due to the lack of snow.
But heavy snow in the French Alps this week had increased the chance of avalanches.
Four other people – two Lithuanians, a Spaniard and a Czech – have been killed in avalanches in the French Alps since the New Year.
The Ski Club of Great Britain urged skiers to take care in a statement on its website earlier this week.
"Our best piece of advice is to follow the warnings of the local avalanche forecasters before heading out on to the slopes," it said.
"Most resorts will display the latest avalanche information at lift stations and will fence off areas deemed too dangerous
"A wealth of information is also available online, but each Alpine region has its own information service, occasionally making finding the correct information difficult."
It published links to the local information to help British skiers.
