ITALY: Rescuers yesterday found the bodies of five french ski-mountaineers swept away by an avalanche during an excursion the day before in Italy's northwestern Alps.
The bodies were spotted from a helicopter shortly after dawn following a suspension of the search overnight because of darkness and bad weather.
The group was overrun by the avalanche on Wednesday afternoon at an altitude of about 2,500m (8,000ft) while travelling through the Gran Paradiso National Park, an Alpine area north of Turin and near the French border.
The group's guide, also a French citizen, was pulled from the snow on Wednesday night after being spotted by a helicopter, said Claudio Rosset, an Alpine rescue official in Aosta. The guide's condition did not appear serious.
The five bodies were spotted at a bottom of a gorge and had been dragged down some 150m (500 ft) by the avalanche, said Massimo De Michela, a rescue official in Turin.
Rescuers were using the helicopter to retrieve the bodies. No details on their identities were immediately available.
The mass of snow descended on the group from Punta Basei, a 3,300m (10,000ft) peak. Fresh snow had recently fallen on the mountain and the unstable mass was believed to have caused the avalanche, Mr De Michela said.