Three killed including two tourists in horror avalanche at popular ski resort

Three people, including two British tourists, have tragically died after a devastating avalanche hit a popular French ski resort on Friday morning (February 13).

The avalanche hit the resort of Val d'Isere at 11:30am local time, with the resort's tourist board confirming a French national had also died, as well as the two tourists from the UK.

Public prosecutor in Albertville, Benoit Bachelet, has also confirmed that a third Brit has been left with minor injuries.

According to a resort spokesperson, who spoke to the BBC, the Britons were part of a group of five who were off-piste skiing with a professional instructor when the avalanche hit.

Meanwhile, the French victim had been skiing alone when the tragedy happened, according to Bachelet.

Emergency services rushed to the scene, but were unfortunately unable to save the skiers, a resort official also said.

Three victims were hit by the avalanche while out skiing (Julien Goldstein/Getty Images)

Authorities say the victims were equipped with safety gear in the event of an avalanche, while the resort has said they all had transceivers, shovels and probes on the slopes (via The Daily Mail).

Bachelet said in a statement: "One of the deceased victims, a French national, was skiing alone in that area. The two other deceased and the injured person are British nationals. They belonged to a group of five skiers accompanied by an instructor. The instructor is unharmed."

Alcohol and drug tests have been carried out on the instructor, which were subsequently negative, The Telegraph reports.

The tourist board in charge of the ski resort has offered its 'sincere condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims', with an investigation now underway.

Director of the Val d'Isère resort, Cédric Bonnevie, has stated two of the victims were found 'quickly' by a rescue team and were discovered 'equipped with all the necessary equipment, including avalanche transceiver'.

An investigation is now underway (PHILIPPE DESMAZES/AFP via Getty Images)

It took authorities slightly longer to find the third skier, as Bonnevie explained: "We think her avalanche transceiver wasn't working anymore because we found her in the water, unfortunately."

The cause of the avalanche is still unknown, he added.

The prefecture of Savoie has advised against 'off-piste activities, ski touring and snowshoeing' and urged 'mountain enthusiasts to strictly comply with the instructions given by professionals and the safety services of the slopes'.

The French national weather service, Meteo France, issued a red alert for avalanche risk in the area surrounding the ski resort.

"Avalanches can therefore be easily triggered by a skier or hiker and may mobilise very large volumes of snow," the weather service stated.

An investigation into manslaughter has been opened following the tragic incident, it has been detailed.