Seven hurt, eight others missing in Alps avalanche

PARIS/ROME (Reuters) - An avalanche hit climbers on Mont Blanc on Sunday, leaving seven injured and eight others missing and French police said there was little hope of finding any survivors.

The injured included French and Italians. Five Austrians and three Swiss were among the missing. The avalanche occurred at dawn, an Italian police official said earlier on Sunday.

Among those injured, four had left hospital while another three were still being treated.

French rescue forces suspended their search for the missing climbers on Sunday, due to hazardous conditions.

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

(Reporting by Sara Rossi, Gerard Bon and Sudip Kar-Gupta; editing by Robert Hart)