An avalanche has engulfed a school party in the French Alps, killing at least three people, with several still unaccounted for.
Two students are among the dead, French authorities say the third casualty is a Ukrainian national.
French media has reported that at least two students were discovered in a state of cardiac arrest and their teacher was found unconscious.
The students came from the Lycee Saint-Exupery school in Lyon, and were skiing in the Les Deux Alpes area when the disaster struck at around 4pm local time.
The group of about 10 students had reportedly been on a piste that was closed to the public at the time.
French radio said rescuers with dogs and helicopters are on the scene, working to find the missing children.
Witnesses told France Bleu radio station that the avalanche was likely to have been triggered by skiing through the area.
The black-rated Bellecombe piste is situated on a particularly icy north-facing side of mountain, the radio station said.
