BREAKING: French Alps avalanche engulfs 10 children, at least 1 killed

Five schoolchildren are reportedly still missing after being swept away by an avalanche in the French Alps at around 4pm local time today.

The children were part of a group of around 10 students from Lyon who were skiiing in the Les Deux Alpes region with their teacher.

Four children are believed to have been found seriously injured, with some in a state of cardiac arrest according to local police. Their teacher was also found unconscious by a ski patrol.

Rescue dogs enroute to help with the #avalanche victims. 3 people suspected to be buried. We saw 1 recovered. pic.twitter.com/dPGJ4Cbrxd

— Tim Rhodes (@Timbeeb) January 13, 2016

All of those found were taken to hospital in nearby Grenoble.

According to the BBC, witnesses have reported that the avalanche seemed to have been triggered by a group skiing through the area.

Rescue helicopters and rescue personnel with dogs are still at the scene.

The Bellecombes piste is graded as a black slope, which is the steepest and most difficult rating.