A British tourist has died in the French Alps after falling more than 100 metres from a rocky ledge in La Plagne.
The 43-year-old, who has not been named, was snowboarding alone when he fell.
His family said he had planned to return after lunch on March 28, but when he failed to do so, the alarm was raised.
Rescue workers made an attempt to track the man, who was snowboarding off-piste, by examining CCTV images.
TRENDING
Stories
Videos
Your Say
But his body was eventually found and reported by a skier who was in an off-piste zone.
He was pronounced dead at the scene by rescue workers, who airlifted his body by helicopter.
Prosecutors have now started an investigation into his death.
A spokesman for the Modane police mountain rescue unit told The Times: "The victim no doubt fell more than 100m from a rocky ledge in an off-piste zone."
The snowboarder fell at least 100 metres in La Plagne ski resort in the French Alps
|GETTY
The 43-year-old is the second Briton to die in La Plagne this season.
In January, a 50-year-old man died after being caught up in an avalanche while skiing off-piste in the resort.
He was among six people killed in avalanches in January.
La Plagne sent 52 rescue workers, accompanied by dogs and a helicopter to hunt for the skier.
SKI ACCIDENTS - READ MORE:
- Two British skiers killed in French avalanche named as tributes pour in for tragic victims
- Third British skier dies in French avalanche just days after two others lost their lives
- Seventeen skiers dead after horror week of Alps avalanches - as eight killed this weekend alone
At least 104 snowboarders were injured in off-piste accidents, according to the National Mountain Safety Observation System
|GETTY
He was found after 50 minutes, buried under 2.5 metres of snow, with the mayor of La Plagne saying at the time the rescue attempt "took a lot of time".
Mayor Jean-Luc Boch said he "ended up in a sort of big hole and there was a lot of snow accumulated [over him] in that place. We took a lot of time to find him and to get him out".
Then in February, three skiers, including two Britons, died when they were caught in an avalanche while off-piste in Val d’Isere.
According to the National Mountain Safety Observation System, 30 skiers have been killed in avalanches in France since the start of the season.
Rescue helicopter similar to those used to find the 43-year-old victim
|GETTY
The system does not record crashes and falls responsible for ski deaths.
Last season, 31 people died in ski accidents.
A further 104 snowboarders were injured in off-piste accidents, and 113 were injured on authorised slopes.
There were 68 recorded collisions between snowboarders and other people on the slopes.