Paris: In southeast France, an avalanche on Sunday claimed the lives of four people and left two more missing, according to the authorities.
According to the Haute-Savoie department's prefecture, two mountain guides were among the dead who were struck by falling snow from the Armancette glacier.

The search for the two people still missing in the Alps had enlisted the aid of investigators. According to the prefecture, eight other people who were swept up in the avalanche were unharmed while one other person only sustained minor injuries.

A 1,000 by 500 metre area was covered by the avalanche.

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Meteo France had not issued an avalanche warning for the area, but the prefecture speculated that a combination of warmth and wind may have been to blame for the catastrophe.

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President Emmanuel Macron posted on Twitter, "We're thinking of (the victims) as well as of their families." To locate people still stranded in the snow, our emergency services have been activated. A mountain rescue dog team and a helicopter had been sent to the scene by emergency personnel, but the prefecture issued a warning that another avalanche could still occur.

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The operation was put on hold in the evening; it will pick back up Monday at 7:00 am (0500 GMT). Francois Barbier, the mayor of Contamines-Montjoie, told AFP, "I think it's the most deadly avalanche this season." In 2014, two brothers who were both seasoned climbers in their 20s perished in an avalanche on the same glacier