Regis Lavergne, commander of the High Mountain Gendarmes based in Chamonix, said a helicopter picked up the signal of special homing devices the climbers were wearing, The Associated Press (AP) reported.

It appeared from the signals that the climbers - four Germans, three Swiss and one Austrian - had fallen into a deep crevasse.

Because the area is prone to avalanches, rescuers will not attempt to recover the bodies, which are expected to resurface in "a few weeks or several years" due to the movement or melting of the glaciers, Mr Lavergne said.

AP reported rescuers had initially said the missing climbers were Swiss and Austrian nationals, but officials later said they included four Germans, who were climbing with an Austrian guide.

The names of the victims have not been made public.

Seven people in hospital following the avalanche were discharged today, officials said.

The avalanche began about 3am yesterday local time after a block of ice as wide as two football fields cracked off a side of the Mont Blanc du Tacul, one of the peaks in the Mont Blanc range, at an altitude of about 3600m.

The Australian