This is the terrifying moment an avalanche swept skiers away as it crashed over a piste at a top French ski resort.
According to Le Dauphiné, the snowslide happened at around midday on Tuesday at the La Flégère, near the French Alps town of Chamonix.
Harrowing footage showed the massive wall of snow crashing into three skiers at breakneck speed.
Horrified witnesses shouted and screamed in terror as the snow buried them.
A group of skiers who had barely avoided being hit by the avalanche were seen sliding away in fear, as two people who appeared to be instructors or rescuers pulled up to the site the snow had settled.
Local media reported that three people were buried up to their necks, though they are now safe and sound.
The avalanche began on the slopes overlooking the top of La Flégère’s Floria ski lift.
Over a space of around 330ft, two ski runs were swallowed up by the snowslide, with the beginning of the Crochues red run and the Floria black run being affected.
Harrowing footage showed the massive wall of snow crashing into three skiers at breakneck speed
It is believed that the area had not ever seen an avalanche before Tuesday
At the time, the rescue effort saw ski patrollers, a high-mountain gendarmerie platoon, as well as guides and instructors mobilising to search for any other victims.
On top of the rescue party of 60, four dogs were deployed.
It is believed that the area had not ever seen an avalanche before Tuesday.
The region has seen significant snowfall in recent days, with local media reporting that snowstorm hit the area last week.
This winter has been dubbed Europe’s deadliest ski season on record, with avalanches claiming 86 lives in the first two months of the year alone.
In the Italian Alps, 13 climbers, hikers, skiers, and snowboarders were killed in a single week – more than any other week on record.
Meanwhile, in France, 28 people have been killed this winter in the popular Valloire area – including two British skiers.
According to scientists, a perfect mix of weather patterns and the popularity of off-piste skiing are to blame for the slew of deadly snowslides.
Frederic Jarry, project manager at the French National Association for the Study of Snow and Avalanches, told the Daily Mail: ‘This is a winter unlike any we’ve experienced in the past few years.’
Skiers are facing snow with a soft, crumbly layer trapped beneath a heavy slab known as a ‘persistent weak layer’, experts explain.
With this fragile crust holding up an entire winter of snow, it only takes the slightest disturbance from an off–piste skier to send a wall of snow and ice sliding down the mountain.
