Two French schoolchildren and a Ukrainian tourist have been killed in an avalanche at a ski resort in the French Alps, reports BBC News.
Five more members out of a group of 10 pupils from Lyon are reportedly still missing.
Several pupils were found in a state of cardiac arrest and their teacher was found unconscious, reports said.
The avalanche struck the group, their teacher and the Ukrainian on a closed piste in the Les Deux Alpes area.
More than 60 rescuers with dogs assisted by four helicopters are on the scene, the local prefecture said in a statement.
Witnesses told the France Bleu radio station that the avalanche was likely to have been triggered by groups skiing through the area.
The Bellecombe piste is situated on a particularly icy north-facing side of mountain, the radio station said. It is black-rated - the most difficult level.
The piste had been closed since the beginning of the ski season because of a lack of snow over the holiday period, a manager at Les Deux Alpes told local media.
However, large quantities of snow have fallen on the French Alps in recent days, raising the risk of avalanches.
Four other people - two Lithuanians, a Spaniard and a Czech - have died since January in avalanches in the French Alps, AFP reported.