A British father and his 12-year-old son, who died while mountaineering in the French Alps, have been named by the Foreign Office as Peter and Charlie Saunders. Peter Saunders, 48, and his son Charlie died while exploring the Chamonix Valley in France. As per the Foreign Office, the British father and his son had flown to the French Alps for a short weekend adventure, which turned out to be deadly. The French rescue squads discovered the dead British father and his son on Sunday morning on a hazardous patch of the Mont Blanc trail. The French police deem that Peter Saunders cartwheeled to his death as he attempted to search for his son, who had plunged 300 metres.

Reportedly, Peter Saunders called for assistance at 2pm local time on Saturday after Charlie tumbled down a cliff on a mountain trail in the Chamonix valley. As per reports, the duo had begun to mountaineer without snowshoes to explore a perilous, profound and snowy mountain trail between Bossons and Les Houches when they died. The son cartwheeled to his death from around 300 metres, while his father plunged to his death 200 metres.

A French police officer, Captain Patrice Ribes, has remarked that emergency teams unsuccessfully attempted to trace Peter Saunders’ mobile phone call and initiated a helicopter rescue.

The British father and his son, who died in the French Alps, are supposedly from Buckinghamshire. The Foreign Office has issued a statement regarding the French Alps hiking deaths, voicing that Charlie was always energetic and joyous, who always loved to spend time with his father. The Foreign Office statement lauded Peter as a person with a positive attitude.

The French Alps has experienced some tragic incidents over the last 12 months. The French Alps hiking casualties had ventured into the Glacier des Bossons zone of the Mont Blanc mountain range. The Chamonix valley, which has five ski resorts, attracts numerous British tourists annually, with several persons owning holiday residences in the area.