British orchestra couple swept to their deaths in horror avalanche in French Pyrenees

Two talented British musicians have been swept to their deaths by an avalanche while on a walking holiday in the French Pyrenees.

Mike Hall, a violinist, and his wife Dorothy, a cellist, died on Wednesday, but details of the accident were only  disclosed last night after their two grown-up children had been informed.

The Halls, both 53, played with Manchester’s respected Halle Orchestra, and Mrs Hall also played with the BBC Philharmonic.

The couple, from Didsbury, had been staying at Luz-Saint-Sauveur on their first trip to the Pyrenees.

They died when a snow shelf fell from the mountain and swept them off a path.

The area is a known danger spot, even in the height of summer.

‘It’s an extremely perilous area,’ said a local police spokesman.

‘They reached a high peak and were hit by dislodged snow. The drift swept towards them at high speed and they had no chance.’

Their neighbour Michael Denton, 25, said they were a close Catholic couple, heavily involved in charity fundraising.

He added: ‘You could not wish to meet nicer people. They were the most generous, kind people who would do absolutely anything for anybody.’

He said Mr Hall was a dedicated climber who was as ‘fit as a fiddle’.

Treacherous: The French Pyrenees near Luz St Saveur, where the holidaying couple died when a collapsing snow shelf swept them off a path

The Halls had a son, Christopher, 25, and daughter, Clare, 28. Mr Denton said: ‘They’ve both been very strong.’

Meanwhile, three injured Britons were last night trapped in mountainous woodland in central France after their light aircraft  crashed in bad weather.

They used their mobile phones to call for help but rescuers from nearby St Etienne were struggling to find them in heavy fog.

A police spokesman said: ‘Emergency helicopters are unable to get to them – the situation is extremely serious.’