'No chance' for missing climbers after Alps avalanche: minister

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2008

ANNECY, France (AFP) — Rescuers on Sunday suspended their hunt for eight climbers missing in an avalanche in the Alps, as France's interior minister warned there is "no longer any chance of finding someone alive."

Michele Alliot-Marie also said there could be more people buried in the snow.

The minister gave her stark verdict after she travelled to the mountains to visit injured survivors and meet with rescue services in the resort base of Chamonix.

"It is extremely difficult to know for sure how many people were caught up in the avalanche," Alliot-Marie said.

"Thanks to technology, we know for certain there are people buried under the snow, but it's impossible to be sure exactly how many."

The minister described the avalanche near France's...