British child dies in skiing accident

A British child has died in a skiing accident in the French Alps, with reports saying it was a seven-year-old boy on a family holiday.

The Foreign Office said the accident happened in Flaine, 38 miles north west of Chamonix, on Friday.

It said it was providing consular assistance to the family but did not provide any more details.

The boy had become separated from his parents and rescuers later found his body.

He was reported missing at 16:30 local time and his body was found at the bottom of a 100-metre cliff at 19:00 local time.

Michel Ollagnon, police commander for the nearby town of Bonneville said the boy fell on Friday evening at the Flaine ski resort after apparently losing his way.

He had been skiing with his mother, brother and sister.

Mr Ollagnon told the BBC: "It seems as if the boy did the last piste descent of the day on his own after asking his parents' permission. He appears to have become lost before falling over the edge of the cliff after taking his skis off.

"A helicopter was deployed in the search before his body was recovered.

"A judicial inquiry into what happened has begun."

The BBC's Paris correspondent Hugh Schofield said police believe the boy had been on a blue slope - an easier descent.