FRANCE: LES ORRES: RELATIVES OF AVALANCHE VICTIMS ARRIVE скачать в хорошем качестве

FRANCE: LES ORRES: RELATIVES OF AVALANCHE VICTIMS ARRIVE

(24 Jan 1998) French/Nat Relatives of the victims of the avalanche in the French Alps arrived in the region on Saturday. Parents and medical experts were flown from Paris to the town of Les Orres near the French Italian border where the disaster happened on Friday night. Although a heavy snowfall threatened avalanches, the 34 students from Saint-Francois-d'Assise private school near Paris and six adults guides pressed ahead with their snowshoeing expedition in the French Alps. On Friday afternoon, as the group snowshoed near the Orres ski station, the avalanche overtook them. A special government plane took off early Saturday morning from a military airfield outside Paris with the parents onboard, accompanied by psychologists and Health Minister Bernard Kouchner. SOUNDBITE: (French) 'We've seen here some extremely courageous people - so much so - what can you say? We must pray, those who want to and know how to should pray. We should cry, cry a lot, we've all cried, us too. We should be silent, we should shout out loud' SUPER CAPTION: Bernard Kouchner, French Minister of Health Authorities said the avalanche risk had been high because more than three feet of snow has fallen since Sunday. And as the extent of the disaster sinks in, questions about responsibility for the accident are starting to be asked. SOUNDBITE: (French) Q: There are various hypotheses about the cause of the accident - off piste skiers? A: No - that is totally out of the question - there were no skiers off piste. It was the group themselves who set off the avalanche as a result of conditions which are still to be determined but there were no off-piste skiers further up who set off the avalanche. Q: And what about the risk they took? A: I'm not a mountain specialist, I think that the enquiry will determine where the responsibility lies, but it is sure - no one can deny it, there was a major risk of avalanche yesterday. SUPER CAPTION: Christian Blanchard, Colonel of Gendarmes of the Department Haute Alpes Medical experts were also on hand to help victims and their families through the tragedy. SOUNDBITE: (French) 'They were immediately, very attentive to the children who are quickly able to express themselves. They needed to speak, above all they needed to be together I think. They behaved in a spirit of brotherhood and bonded remarkably - they cried together, obviously. The nurses have been incredibly important in helping them to express themselves and in comforting them. SUPER CAPTION: Dr Alain Derniaux, Psychologist Grieving parents arrived at the town of Les Orres on Saturday to recover their children's bodies and find out how the tragedy happened. Officials said the death toll could have been higher without the quick rescue effort. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...