On 12 July 2012, at least nine climbers—three from the United Kingdom (including Roger Payne, a mountain guide and former general secretary of the British Mountaineering Council), two from Switzerland, two from Germany, and two from Spain—were killed by an avalanche as they attempted a dawn ascent of the mountain from the Refuge des Cosmiques. Nine others were injured and flown to hospital. The avalanche struck at 5 am, as the climbers began their climb up one of the most popular, but dangerous, routes up the mountain. Éric Fournier, the mayor of Chamonix-Mont Blanc, described the snowslide as one of the deadliest in recent years. There was no weather bulletin giving any avalanche warning, he claimed.