France, Jan. 12 -- Three more skiers were killed by avalanches in the French Alps on Sunday, taking the death toll over the weekend to six as exceptionally unstable snow conditions continued to claim lives despite repeated warnings from the authorities.

The latest fatalities came a day after three men were swept away while skiing off-piste in Savoie.

Throughout the weekend, the Alpine massifs were classified as high risk because of an unstable snowpack following heavy snowfall.

Speaking on Sunday evening, Vanina Nicoli, the prefect of Savoie, expressed her regret that off-piste skiing - which had been "strongly discouraged" since Friday - had once again resulted in deaths and put both skiers and rescuers in danger. The avalanche risk a...