A British climber yesterday found the bodies of six mountaineers in the French Alps who fell to their deaths in one of the worst accidents in the region in years.

The dead included a 16-year-old boy, two men and three women aged between 42 and 64, all French nationals, said regional prosecutor Remy Avon, who did not disclose their identities.

He also did not support earlier reports that the group fell following an avalanche of snow and stones.

“For the moment, we do not know the reason” for the fall, he said, explaining that officials in the area have opened an investigation into the tragic accident.

The mayor of the nearby village of Villar d’Arene had earlier said there may have been “a slide of snow and stones” that caused the mountaineers to fall to their deaths.

Mayor Xavier Cret explained the climbers appeared to have died on Saturday after falling around 200 metres.

The bodies found on the Neige Cordier summit at 3,000 metres were taken by helicopter to Villar d’Arene, Mayor Cret said.

When found, “the victims were tied together in two ropes,” Mayor Cret added.

The prosecutor speculated that one group tied together may have caused the other to fall, but he also noted it was possible the two groups fell independently at the same time.

The climbers set out on Saturday at around 0600 GMT and carried ice picks and other gear necessary for an arduous climb.

The British hiker stumbled across the bodies as he was taking the same route that they had followed a day before, mountain rescue police said.

The climbers left a mountain hut on Saturday morning to climb Neige Cordier, officials said.

Their bodies were found in a narrow, steep-sided ravine that is regularly used by skiers in winter and climbers in summer.

Weather conditions in the Alps this weekend were good, with sunshine and clear skies.

Police have opened an inquiry into the incident, one of the worst such cases in recent years in France. In June 2007, five climbers from the same family died after a fall on a nearby mountain.