³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

Friends have paid tribute to two skiers from Cambridge who fell to their deaths while on holiday in the French Alps.

Oscar Cassagneau-Francis and Rajen Mahendra, both 26, slipped before falling several hundred metres while off-piste in the Chamonix-Mont-Blanc region on Sunday, rescue services said.

Rescuers arrived within 10 minutes of being alerted, but both men were pronounced dead at the scene.

The Foreign Office said it is "providing support" to their families.

Emily Lang, a friend of Mr Cassagneau-Francis' at Netherhall School, said he was "an absolutely lovely guy".

"I'll always remember his school jumper arms being covered in sports colours from shoulder to wrist," she said.

"I'll be thinking of him and everyone who will be missing him today."

Mr Mahendra was described as "friendly, helpful, kind and always smiling" in a Facebook post by the Cambridge Touch Association, who he represented in a national competition.

"He will be sorely missed by all his friends," they said.