Avalanche in the French Alps: Four people die in southeastern France

(CNN) At least four people were killed and several others injured in an avalanche that hit the French Alps over the weekend.

Emergency workers have been deployed after the accident in the Armansett glacier near Mont Blanc in southeastern France, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said Sunday. Rescue work continues.

Clouds of snow rolled down the mountainside, according to a Reuters video posted on Twitter by a nearby ski station, Contamines-Montjoie.

According to a spokesman for the local authorities in Haute-Savoie, the avalanche stretched across an area of ​​1 km by 500 metres, at an altitude of 3,500 meters (11,480 ft).

The people swept away by the avalanche were skiing in the countryside and the identities of the victims have been confirmed.

The mayor of Contamine-Montjoy, François Barbier, told AFP the avalanche was “the most deadly avalanche of the season”.

French President Emmanuel Macron sent his condolences to the victims and their loved ones.

Macron wrote in a tweet on Twitter: “In the Armancet glacier in the Alps, an avalanche caused casualties. We are thinking of them and their families. Our rescue forces have been mobilized to find people still stuck in the snow. Our thoughts are with them too.” Sunday.

CNN’s Joseph Ataman contributed to this report.