Snow strands thousands in French Alps

Heavy snow stranded 4,000 travellers heading for resorts in the French Alps and killed one skier in an avalanche, authorities said on Sunday.

| Snow made some roads impassable in the French Alps and forced these motorists to put chains on their wheels . AFP/File

The Savoie department prefecture said 3,500 motorists spent the night in emergency shelters after the snow made the roads impassable.

A further 500 holiday-makers who landed at the airport in the city of Chambery also had to sleep in shelters.

The avalanche alert level in Savoie was at four on a scale of five, the national weather service said.

The mountain rescue service said a 22-year-old man died when an avalanche swept him away as he skied off-piste on Saturday in Val d'Isere, a resort popular with foreign visitors.