Briton and son found dead on Mont-Blanc

A British man and his 12-year-old son were found dead Sunday in the Mont-Blanc massif that spreads around Europe's highest peak, AFP reports citing rescuers. Their bodies were found a day after contact was last made with the 48-year-old father, who had called an emergency centre to say that his son had had a fall and was out of reach. Rescuers lost contact and launched their search with little information on the exact location of the hikers. Britain's Foreign Office later named the pair as Peter and Charlie Saunders and issued a statement on behalf of the their family. "Charlie was always full of life, had a really happy temperament and loved spending time with his father," it said. "Peter was fantastic at making things happen, resourceful, with a positive approach to life. They will both be sorely missed by friends and family alike. "We would like to take this opportunity to thank the French rescue services for all their efforts," it added. The father and son had ventured into the sprawling Mont-Blanc range's Bossons area without adequate equipment, Patrice Ribes, from the gendarmerie in the nearby town of Chamonix, told AFP. A helicopter spotted their bodies at 0600 GMT on Sunday, at an altitude of 1,600 metres.