The Guardian. Avalanche kills four climbers in Scottish Highlands

Four people were killed in an avalanche in the Scottish Highlands as snow and icy weather continued to bring widespread disruption to Britain.

A party of six climbers, three men and three women, were caught in the snowfall on Bidean Nam Bian in Glencoe at around 2pm on Saturday.

Police and mountain rescue teams launched a rescue operation after the alarm was raised by two climbers, who were not part of the group, after they discovered one of the casualties lying in the snow.

Soon after, the emergency services were contacted by a male survivor of the climbing party who informed them that more people were missing.

It is understood that the party were descending from a peak on the south side of the valley, when the slope they were on broke away. The climbers were close to Church Door Buttress when the snow slope broke away. Five of them were swept down the mountain and engulfed by ice and snow. One female climber was recovered alive, but has serious head injuries.

The Scottish Avalanche Information Service categorised the avalanche risk around Glencoe yesterday as "considerable" – the second lowest on a European four-point scale.

Co-ordinator Mark Diggins said the weather conditions had been fairly dry with little snow over the past four days. "An avalanche can be triggered by a single person," he added. "At the moment, it doesn't look like there's much snow, it is very localised. You're getting into areas that are 800 metres up because the wind packs the snow to make it hard."

The Rev Moira Herkes said she will lead a prayer for those involved in the tragedy at St Munda's church, which serves the communities of Glencoe and Ballachulish, on Sunday.

"They will not be forgotten, that's for sure," she said. "This is the worst accident here for many years. It is very distressing, because people come here for pleasure and when something like this happens it hurts everyone involved.

"This is a very beautiful place, but at times it can be very dangerous."