3 mountain climbers die in French Alps

By Hajer M'tiri

PARIS (AA) - Three mountain climbers died on Mont Blanc in the French Alps on Thursday morning, local authorities said.

The climbers, who were linked together with a rope, died in the Domes de Miage, falling from an altitude of some 3,600 meters, according to rescue teams.

The incident occurred when their climbing bolts unscrewed, local media reported, quoting Anne Martini of the Chamonix-Mont-Blanc prefecture.

The identities of the victims remains unknown and a rescue operation is is still underway.

The accident comes just a few days after four climbers -- including an Italian man and two French women -- died in the French Alps on Sunday in three separate accidents.

In a bid to cut on fatalities, the mayor of Saint-Gervais Jean-Marc Peillex had issued a by-law last year and put on a set of restrictions and rules obliging any climber taking this route, known as "royal road", to be sufficiently equipped.

At least 14 people died last summer, compared to nine during the same period in 2016, and two went missing on the access roads to Mont Blanc, according to French daily Le Figaro.