Woman dies after being sucked into snow-clearing machine at French ski resort

A young female seasonal ski resort worker has died after being sucked into a snow clearing machine in the Pyrenees.

The horrific snowblower accident occurred in the French resort of Les Angles.

According to the Standard, local mayor Michel Poudade said there was "complete bafflement" over what happened, adding: "The driver of the machine is in a terrible state, he is not coping well at all."

Speaking about the driver, Poudade told France Bleu Roussillon radio: "He feels terrible. The medical services have taken him in. It's an awful incident. He's an experienced driver, the head of the snow-clearing team at the resort, he knows the roads very, very well. He really doesn't understand what happened."

The man driving the snowblower did not notice the woman had been sucked into the machine until his plough's engine started to play up.

He instantly called paramedics, but they confirmed the woman was dead upon arrival at the scene.

There has been speculation that the woman, thought to be in her early 20s, may have been lying in the snow following an unrelated accident.

According to the Daily Telegraph, Jérôme Meunier, the director of the resort, said the woman was "caught in the snowblower, a large vehicle that sucks up and then blows out snow, during the operation to clear the roads of snow this morning (Friday 27 February) at 5.15am."

Les Angles is a popular tourist town around 50 miles from Perpignan.

The area has recently been on high alert due to the risk of avalanches.