UPDATE 2:29 p.m.: Police report that all skiers who went missing following a catastrophic avalanche in the French Alps are accounted for. In the end, two of the 10 students involved and an unrelated Ukrainian skier died in the incident, according to NBC News.
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At least one person has been killed and another four injured after an avalanche engulfed their group as they were skiing on the French Alps, local media reported Wednesday.
The disaster occurred around 4 p.m. local time when the group of 10 students and their teacher were skiing in Les Deux Alpes resort on the Bellecombe piste, an area that was closed to the public at the time, according to The Le Dauphine Libere.
Moutain rescue teams, accompanied by dogs and helicopters, are on the scene as they search for the remaining five. Four of the students were reported to be in cardiac arrest and the teacher was unconscious, while several of the other victims were evacuated to a hospital in Grenoble.
Reports indicate that the dead person was a 14-year-old, according to The Guardian.
It's unclear why the group had been in the area in the first place. Other than the fact that it was closed to the public, a report posted Tuesday on the resort's official website forcast heavy snowfall on Wednesday.
The report listed the avalanche risk on Bellecombe as black - the most difficult level- and as "massive" with large snow accumulations and high winds, reported The Independent.
Witnesses claim that the avalanche was likely the direct result of the group skiing through the area.
