car station on the Col du Midi. Their attack was met with fierce opposition from French resistance fighters, and took place at an altitude of . Nine of the attacking soldiers were killed, including their commander. By 1932 France had established the École de Haute Montagne in Chamonix to train mountain troops, but in 1945 it was reconstituted to provide specialised mountaineering training, skiing and tactical skills to the entire army. It was later renamed as the (EMHM) and it continues to fulfil that role to this day, training approximately 1,500 troops every year. Incidents and tragedies A number of noteworthy incidents have occurred across the massif over the last two centuries which stand out from the routine toll of mountain-related deaths, of which there are now approximately 100 per annum. 1820: First recorded deaths on Mont Blanc. Three Chamoniards die in a climbing group led by Dr Hamel. 1892: 175 people are killed in St Gervais and nearby settlements from the sudden release of meltwater from the Tête Rousse Glacier. 1895: Italian mountain guide, Émile Rey, dies during simple descent from Dent du Geant. 1946: A B-17 Flying Fortress crashes into the Aiguille des Glaciers. All eight crew are killed. 1950: Air India Flight 245 crashes close to summit of Mont Blanc. All 48 passengers and crew are killed. 1961: French jet fighter plane severs cable on Vallée Blanche Cable Car, killing six tourists and leaving 59 trapped. 1966 Air India Flight 101 crashes close to summit of Mont Blanc. All 106 passengers and 11 crew are killed. 1997: British mountain guide is successfully sued by six-year-old boy over father's death in a climbing accident on the Tour Ronde in 1990. 1999: Avalanche kills 12 people and destroys 17 houses in villages of Le Tour and Montroc - the worst incident in Chamonix for 90 years. 1999: A lorry fire in the Mont Blanc Tunnel kills 39 people. 2012: Ice fall triggers avalanche on Mont Maudit, affecting 28 climbers. Nine climbers killed, nine others injured. Access The Mont Blanc massif is accessible by road from within France via the A40–E25, or from Switzerland via Martigny and the Forclaz pass (), or via Orsières to reach the Swiss Val Ferret. From within Italy the A40 from Aosta leads to Courmayeur, as does the higher mountain route from Bourg-Saint-Maurice via the Col du Petit St. Bernard (). The French and Swiss