COURMAYEUR – The bodies of four skiers, one of whom was British, have been found by a rescue team after an avalanche in Val Veny, police sources report. 

 Matt Ziegler, 43, was named by Italian police as one of four excursionists who were skiing in a closed off-piste area of the Courmayeur resort in the Valle d’Aosta when they were killed by the avalanche. Two French residents and a New Zealander were identified by alpine rescue services as the other three skiers involved in the accident. 

 Friends of Ziegler reportedly raised the alarm after the skiers didn't arrive at a meeting point. 

 The skiers were found under two metres of snow wearing airbag backpacks, used to float to the surface of the snow in the event of an avalanche.

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