Nine climbers died, nine were injured and four are still missing after an avalanche today in the French Alps that authorities called "the most deadly of recent years." Dozens of rescue workers, mountain dogs and guides are searching for those still unaccounted for on Mont Maudit, part of the Mont Blanc range. Two helicopters and several dozen gendarmes, or military personnel, worked to pull the dead -- which reportedly included German, Swiss and Spanish citizens -- and the injured from the mountain. By midday, the bodies of three British climbers, who were among the initial missing, had been recovered, according to authorities. Italian rescuers reinforced the search parties, which by noon had covered more than 2 miles of the mountain. Col. FranÃ§ois Bertrand, commander of the gendarmerie of the Haute-Savoie, said today that he hoped those still missing were moving faster than the rest of the group, or possibly through another route, and managed to escape the avalanche. "It is a climber that would have triggered the plate," Bertrand said."This does not mean that they are under the avalanche but we are extremely concerned for their safety." There were reportedly 28 people in the mountaineering group, from several countries, including Switzerland, Serbia, Germany, Spain, Britain and France. A total of 11 people from the group were rescued and evacuated to the hospital Sallanches. Nine of them sustained minor injuries, while two escaped unscathed. Mont Maudit, which translates to "cursed peak," is the area's third-highest peak, rising to an altitude of 14,650 feet.