The two men were buried under 2.5 metres of snow. Members of their group had raised the alarm, but rescuers were unable to revive them after finally reaching them, said a statement.

French weather forecasters had warned of a high risk of avalanches this weekend, with a level four out of five on the European avalanche danger scale.

They were not equipped with avalanche transceivers and could only be located thanks to their mobile phones, the statement said.

Rescuers had to probe the snowpack to find them in an area measuring 10 by 15 metres, said the tourist office.