5 More Die in Avalanches in French Alps; Toll Reaches 18

Five more people died in avalanches in the French Alps on Friday, bringing the toll to 18 killed this week, French police said.

They said three people were killed in Les Arcs and two--an Australian man and a British woman--in Val d’Isere.

All had ignored repeated warnings from authorities to stay on marked runs because of the high risk of avalanches after the heaviest snowfall in decades.

The French Alps claimed their latest casualties as rescuers dug out the body of a 15-year-old boy, the 12th victim of a huge avalanche that destroyed 17 chalets in the villages of Le Tour and Montroc on Tuesday.

A New Zealander was killed in another snowslide in Courchevel earlier this week.

Police said Australian Anthony Thorburn, 23, and Briton Catherine Ovington, 27, were swept to their deaths by an avalanche triggered by other members of their skiing group at an altitude of 6,900 feet in Val d’Isere.

Three French people--two men and a woman, all in their 50s--were buried 20 feet deep in an avalanche three hours later 9,500 feet high in Les Arcs. They were in a group of eight accompanied by a guide.

Courchevel, Les Arcs and Val d’Isere are among France’s most fashionable ski resorts and hosted events during the 1992 Albertville Winter Olympics.

The teenager’s body was found in Montroc as funeral services for three other victims--a ski safety expert, his wife and their 3-year-old granddaughter--were being held in nearby Chamonix.

The Montroc avalanche was the biggest in the area in nearly a century. The body of the 11th victim, a woman, was found Thursday. She had been swept about 1,000 feet from her chalet.

Rescuers said all missing people had now been accounted for, and they are no longer searching for more bodies.