Children crushed to death after boulder hits family ski chalet

The site of the mountain cottage destroyed by a rockslide at Isola Village. Photo / AFP

Two children have died after a giant boulder crushed into the Alpine ski chalet they were sleeping in, it has been reported.

The incident happened at around 5am near the British-built Isola 2000 resort in southern France, when a 9.7m high and 4.8m wide boulder became dislodged from the cliff above, according to The Telegraph.

Local emergency staff attended the scene, but the victims are yet to be identified.

The survivors were taken to St Roch hospital in the coastal city of Nice, 112km away.

The site of the mountain cottage destroyed by a rockslide at Isola Village. Photo / AFP

There they were treated for minor injuries and shock, and are being given counselling.

Jean-Marie Bogini, the mayor of the village of Isola confirmed that there was a landslide. "There were seven people in the house - five adults and two children," he said.

He added that while some family members escaped, the seven and the 10 year old could not get out.

Gendarme commander Gael Marchand said: "Three of the survivors managed to get out of the rubble alone, while the remaining two had to be freed by the emergency service."

He added that the boulder first landed on the road above the chalet, but then bounced down.

"One possible reason for the landslide is that the cliff was in a very fragile state due to a long period of heavy rain, followed by a thaw," he said.

Roads nearby the scene were closed off as police investigated the area.

In 2009 the resort of Isola 2000 was completely blocked off when three avalanches fell on roads leading up to it, with hundreds of Britons among those trapped.

- UK Independent