Two Britons killed in French Alps

Two british climbers have fallen 900 metres to their deaths in the French Alps. Mountain rescue services found the pair roped together, suggesting that one climber lost his footing, taking his partner with him.

The men, aged 22 and 24, were climbing near the town of Chamonix, when the accident happened at 5.30pm on Friday.

"They had a huge, huge fall," said a spokesman for the rescue services. "We don't know why they fell yet."

Local reports indicated that the two British men fell while traversing a snowfield 300 metres from the summit of the Frendo. Rain and mild weather is believed to have softened the snow, making climbing difficult.

The men have not been named, but the Foreign Office confirmed that their families had been informed.

Three weeks ago a 19-year-old student at Edinburgh University, Robbie Cammack, died attempting the same climb. Then on Saturday, two Swiss climbers died on the Frendo Spur, on the north face of the Aiguille du Midi mountain. The mountain route remains open.