Three skiers died after their group was hit by an avalanche on the Alps in the Piedmont region of northern Italy. An additional two skiers survived and were airlifted to hospital by helicopter.

Three skiers died when an avalanche hit their group in Italy’s northern Piedmont region. A group of five people were heading up the eastern face of the 9,373ft Punta Valgrande, on the Swiss border, when a mass of snow swept down the slope around midday.