A British man and an Italian died in separate falls Sunday while hiking in the French Alps, emergency responders said Monday.

The Briton in his 50s was killed near the foot of France's tallest mountain Mont Blanc, police in the Chamonix region said.

The hiker was taking a difficult track near the Bionnassay glacier, the smallest on the French side of the Mont-Blanc massif, at a spot known as Nid d'Aigle (Eagle's Nest).

He fell around 50 metres (160 feet) and was killed instantly, emergency responders said.

The Italian man, aged 67, was hiking with his wife at around 3,000 metres above sea level near Lake Mont-Cenis in the Savoy region.

He slipped and fell around 150 metres, mountain rescuers in Albertville said.

Although the man's wife called emergency services when she lost sight of him, he was already dead by the time they arrived.