A British skier in his 50s has been killed following an avalanche in the French Alps.
The incident occurred on Sunday afternoon at the La Plagne - with emergency services receiving an alert at 1.57pm.
Rescue crews discovered the man beneath around 2.5 metres of snow following a near-hour-long search.
Despite the efforts of more than 50 personnel, attempts to revive him proved unsuccessful.
According to a statement from the south-eastern French resort, the Briton had been skiing "off-piste" at the time.
The search operation involved a substantial team of medical personnel, ski school instructors, and a rescue dog deployed by helicopter.
When the avalanche struck, the man had been skiing with a group.
However, he was not carrying the electronic tracking device that enables rescuers to locate buried victims.
A British skier has been killed following an avalanche at the La Plagne resort in the French Alps
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He is also believed to have not been guided by a qualified professional at the time of the incident.
His death formed part of a devastating weekend across the French Alps in which six skiers died in multiple avalanches.
Weather services had issued warnings in the days before the tragedies.
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Rescue crews discovered the man beneath 2.5 metres of snow following a search lasting nearly an hour (file photo)
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At Vallorcine in the Haute-Savoie region, a 32-year-old skier was killed when an avalanche hurled him into a tree, according to the Chamonix High Mountain Gendarmerie Platoon.
Saturday saw three more off-piste skiers lose their lives in two avalanches.
Regional officials recorded a minimum of six avalanches across local ski areas on Sunday morning.
Avalanches occur when a slab of snow fractures and slides downhill, typically on steep slopes after a weak underlying layer gives way.
Meteorological services had issued warnings of heightened avalanche risk in the days before the tragedies
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Heavy snowfall, wind loading, sudden temperature changes and hidden weak layers in the snowpack are the main risk factors, with avalanches often triggered by skiers, snowmobiles or natural disturbances.
Every year, around 100 people are killed across Europe in avalanches, with the majority of deaths occurring in off-piste areas.
France leads the way as the continent's avalanche capital, with between 500 to 1,500 reported annually.
In the Northern Hemisphere, the majority of these events occur between December and April, but it is possible for them to take place all year round.
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