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Eight hurt, 10 missing after Alps avalanche

Sun Aug 24, 2008 10:12am EDT
An avalanche hit climbers on Mont Blanc on Sunday, injuring three and leaving nine missing, Italian police said. REUTERS/Graphics

PARIS/ROME (Reuters) - An avalanche hit climbers on Mont Blanc on Sunday, injuring eight and leaving 10 others missing, French police said.

World

The injured included five French and three Italians. Five Austrians and three Swiss were among the 10 missing.

"The avalanche occurred at dawn on the French side, hitting a group of climbers who were roped together," an Italian police official said earlier on Sunday.

The French police and the Italian Civil Protection are at the scene and the injured are being treated at a hospital in the French town of Chamonix.

Mont Blanc is the highest peak in the Alps, spanning the border between Italy and France.

(Reporting by Gerard Bon and Robin Pomeroy; editing by Robert Hart)
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