At least 4 hikers dead in Corsica storm

Rescuers were searching Thursday for missing hikers on the French island of Corsica a day after a violent storm lashed one of the world's top walking trails, leaving four people dead.

Lightning strikes and mudslides hit the notoriously difficult GR20 hiking trail through the Corsican mountains, leaving two men and a woman dead on Wednesday.

Emergency services found a fourth body early Thursday. Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve said several people were still missing and two were hospitalised.

The accident was the worst in 30 years on the route, which is known to be one of the world's most difficult and spectacular walks, taking into some of the highest summits on Corsica.

Several accidents take place on the trail every year.

The person found dead Thursday was retrieved at the bottom of the notorious Circle of Solitude section of the trail, where hikers have to descend a steep rock face assisted only by chains and cables.

A 63-year-old Spanish hiker was knocked to the ground by lightning and suffered shock and several cuts and bruises.

"That's the end of the holiday. It's awful," said a young IT worker from Bordeaux, who gave his name as Michel.

"We're stopping here and we're going back to Bastia," the island's capital.

The head of the island's parks authority said he had to weigh the extent of the damage and investigate the geological conditions of the park before reopening the route.