Wall Of Snow Wipes Out Four Climbers In French Alps

An avalanche caused by heavy overnight snowfall killed four climbers and injured five in the French Alps on Sunday.

Neither the identities nor the nationalities of the climbers were released. The conditions of the survivors, who were flown to a hospital, were not immediately known.

The climbers were at an altitude of 12,000 feet in the Barre des Ecrins mountain range when they were surprised by a wall of snow that slid down the mountainside, police said.

Rescue workers, fearing new avalanches, used helicopters to evacuate 18 other climbers.

More than 60 people have been killed in climbing accidents in the Alps since mid-July.