The father and son were thought to have been hiking near the Bossons glacier at Chamonix-Mont-Blanc
A British man and his 12-year-old son have been found dead in the French Alps after apparently falling while hiking near Mont Blanc.
The 48-year-old man and his son were in the Chamonix area for a weekend hiking.
They took a well-known mountain trail, which police say is dangerous during the winter.
It is understood the boy plummeted several hundred metres down a cliff. It appeared the father then phoned for help before he also fell.
Mountain rescue teams found both bodies on Sunday morning.
Popular summer hike
The pair, who have not been named by authorities, are believed to have been from Buckinghamshire, BBC Paris correspondent Hugh Schofield said.
They had set out on a popular summer hike known as Le Couloir des Bossons near Mont Blanc - Europe's highest peak.
Police in France described the trail as very steep, with rocky, slippery parts to it - and it is not recommended in winter.
Local journalists said the father was thought to have made a call by mobile phone to the Mountain Police Squad at Annecy on Saturday afternoon, saying his son had fallen and he could no longer see him.
But he was cut off and rescue teams following up the call were unable to locate the pair.
Overnight, police were able to establish their identities and contacted the man's family in England via Interpol, it is understood.
It is also thought the father and son had sent photos of themselves on the hike to their families, and French police used a photo to identify where they must have been.
On Sunday, a helicopter search party resumed and found the two bodies - which were taken back to Chamonix.
A spokesperson for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said it was "aware of the death of two British Nationals in the French Alps".
"We are providing consular assistance to the family at this difficult time," the spokesperson added.
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