Updated

Rescuers say that a 7-year-old British boy fell off a rocky outcropping to his death in a skiing accident in the French Alps during a family vacation.

Michel Ollagnon, an officer with the Bonneville mountain rescue service, said the boy fell Friday evening at the Flaine ski resort after apparently losing his way.

Ollagnon said the boy was skiing with his mother, brother and sister, and had asked to ski alone for his last descent of the day. He was found dead by rescuers on a helicopter off his expected course.

The British Foreign Office said it is providing consular assistance to the family.

Officials would not release the boy's identity or other details about the family.