Avalanche kills 5 soldiers during French Alps training

PARIS (AP) — An avalanche in the French Alps swept away a military unit training in the back country, killing five soldiers and injuring several others Monday, officials said.
The Savoie prefecture confirmed the deaths, and said 11 people out of a group of about 50 were struck by the avalanche. It said the soldiers were training off-piste in Valfrejus in the Savoie region.
Jean-Claude Raffin, mayor of Modane, the nearest town, said the soldiers were out for an all-day backcountry skii