Frenchman Killed in Qornet al-Sawda Avalanche, 10 Skiers Escape Unhurt

A French man was killed in an avalanche on Lebanon's highest mountain peak on Friday while 10 other skiers escaped unharmed, officials and a witness said.

The French embassy confirmed to Agence France Presse that one of its citizens had been killed in an accident in Qornet al-Sawda, which overlooks the Cedars of north Lebanon and the eastern Bekaa Valley.

A Lebanese Red Cross official said that the other 10 skiers had made their way down to the village of Ainata in the eastern Bekaa Valley. There were no reports of injuries.

A witness who had been skiing nearby told an AFP correspondent in Ainata that a group of skiers were making their way down the mountain when one was swept away by an avalanche.

Qornet al-Sawda is the country's highest peak at more than 3,000 meters (9,842 feet) above sea level.