The girl was taking part in a ski lesson with four other children in Flaine, Haute Savoie, on Saturday morning when she was "violently struck by a skier going at high speed who tried in vain to avoid her", the prosecutor for Bonneville said.

She was waiting in a queue for the "Les Serpentines" blue slope and was about to make a right turn when the incident happened, they added.

The young girl, who is believed to live with her parents in Geneva, Switzerland, was airlifted to hospital, but pronounced dead on the way.

A 40-year-old man from the Haute Savoie region was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and is being questioned in custody, the prosecutor said.