Avalanche in French Alps leaves 9 climbers dead, several missing CHAMONIX, France - A climber trying to scale Mont Blanc accidently caused a slab of ice to snap off Thursday high in the French Alps, sparking an avalanche that swept nine European climbers to their deaths, authorities said. Eleven other climbers were hospitalized and at least four were still unaccounted for. As a sheet of snow and ice thundered down the steep slope, several other climbers managed to turn away from the slide in time, regional authorities in Haute-Savoie said. Two other climbers were rescued as emergency crews using dogs and helicopters scoured the churned-up, high-altitude area in a frantic search for the missing. Their quest, hampered by the possibility of further avalanches, was called off before nightfall. Three Britons, three Germans and two Spaniards were among the dead, their governments confirmed. The other victim was from Switzerland, according to the gendarme service in the French mountain town of Chamonix. Early summer storms apparently left behind heavy snow that combined with high winds to form dangerous overhanging conditions on some of the popular climbing routes around Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in western Europe. Regional authorities had warned climbers earlier this summer to be careful because of an unusually snowy spring. The Mont Blanc massif is a popular area for climbers, hikers and tourists but a dangerous one, with dozens dying on it each year. Chamonix, a top center for climbing, hosted tp snow had made the search particularly difficult. A spokesperson for the British Foreign Office said the British ambassador to Paris was heading to Chamonix. French investigators will examine the circumstances of the deaths.