by Samuel Osborne, The Independent, March 7, 2017
French authorities have said there were no fatalities after an avalanche hit a ski slope in the popular French resort of Tignes.
Local emergency services initially said several skiers had been buried in the avalanche.
The large search and rescue operation is now over, authorities said.
"Several skiers have been shaken up and taken care of by resort personnel," a statement from the resort said. "Emergency staff were deployed immediately. After the search operations, there are no victims to report."
Rescue conditions were reported to be difficult because of fog which made it impossible for emergency workers from outside the resort to get there by helicopter.
A police spokesman said several people were buried when the avalanche came down on a busy ski slope, local newspaper Le Dauphine reported.
The snow crossed the popular Carline piste, a medium blue ski slope, and police issued an alert around 10.06am.
The avalanche risk at Tignes was rated four out of five because of strong winds.
The vast Tignes ski area was entirely closed and skiers were evacuated by resort staff and police.
TV footage of the resort showed bad weather conditions and poor visibility on the slopes.
Four snowboarders were killed in an avalanche at the same resort last month.
Since the beginning of the season, there have been 14 avalanches in the Alps and the Pyrenees, which have killed at least seven.
Last season, there were 45 incidents, which killed 21 people.
In January, 29 people died when an avalanche buried the small Hotel Rigopiano in Italy.
This article was written by Samuel Osborne from The Independent and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. Please direct all licensing questions to legal@newscred.com.