Swiss climbers die in Mont Blanc plunge

Two Swiss climbers fell to their deaths in a climbing accident in the French Alps on Saturday, the latest in a spate of mountaineering deaths in the region. The 55-year-old men were killed while climbing in the Mont Blanc range, Chamonix police said. "According to reports, the two victims fell more than 400 metres," the force said. The climbers' bodies were discovered at about 5:30 am (0330 GMT) at the foot of the Aiguille du Jardin mountain. On Friday evening two British climbers aged 22 and 24 were killed in a fall on the Aiguille du Midi in the same area. An investigation is underway into the causes of the two accidents, which happened in very different snow conditions, police chief Benoit Tonanny said. "The two Swiss climbers do not appear to have acted recklessly," he added. A 58-year-old mountaineer fell to his death last Monday while scaling the Pic du Pave in the Ecrins mountain range, where the bodies of six French climbers were found on the Neige Cordier summit the previous day.