A Russian couple of alpinists, Tatyana and Mikhail Zakharov, who went missing during an attempted ascent of Mont Blanc, were found dead on the second day of searches, on Tuesday.

      The Zakharov family arrived in Geneva on December 23 to climb Mont Blanc.  According to French police, Tatyana and Mikhail were aware of the weather service warning about risks of an avalanche. This day they were the only tourists who decided to challenge nature without any companions or guides.  

      Their relatives raised an alarm after the couple didn't return to Moscow as scheduled, on January 6. In France they were last seen December 29, shortly before the ascent. The contact with the couple was lost on January 1, but searches began only 8 days afterwards, because of bad weather conditions. 

      Despite all hopes to find them alive, the Zakharovs were found dead in their tent on the way to the top of the mountain. The tent was snowed under without any chances to get out of it.

      The family's friends say the the alpinists were professionals and had been practicing alpinism for many years.

      It should be pointed out that the situation in French, Austrian, Swiss Alps is very bad now. As a result of heavy snowfalls several ski resorts, train routes, and car roads have been blocked. Thousands of tourists can't get out of the region where they spent the holidays. 

Sources: rbc.ru gazeta.ru Image: rbc.ru