British glider pilot killed in French Alps crash

Grenoble, France, July 16, 2017 (AFP) -A British pilot reported missing in the French Alps was found dead on Saturday in the debris of his crashed glider, the prosecutor for the Gap region said.

Mountain rescue had been alerted late Friday to the disappearance of the 69-year-old pilot, who had taken off earlier that day from the Serres-La Batie aerodrome.

Rescuers found the body of the British pilot and the crashed glider at an altitude of some 2300 metres (7,500 feet).

According to the Gap prosecutor, the pilot, whose name was not released, smashed into a mountain summit near the commune of Val-des-Pres, north of Briancon in southeastern France.

Aviation authorities have been called to investigate the cause of the crash.