6 climbers killed in Mont Blanc avalanche

An avalanche in the French Alps on Thursday swept six climbers to their deaths, left at least nine injured and about a dozen others unaccounted for, authorities said.

Rescuers are searching for the missing.

About 28 climbers from Switzerland, Germany, Spain, France, Denmark and Serbia were believed to be involved in the expedition caught in the avalanche, according to the local gendarme service and Danish Foreign Ministry.

The gendarme service in Chamonix says they were alerted around 5:25 am on Thursday to the avalanche on Mont Maudit, part of the Mont Blanc range.

Several dozen gendarmes and other rescuers and two helicopters worked to pull the dead and injured from the mountain. The injured climbers were hospitalized, the gendarme service said, though their condition is unclear.

The French Interior Ministry said six were killed and nine injured. French Interior Minister Manuel Valls will travel to the site later Thursday.

The Danish Foreign Ministry says two Danes are involved in the avalanche, though it is unclear whether they were among the dead and injured.