It was like film scene says hiker who stumbled on Alps massacre

The man, named only as Philippe D, 41, is the first witness to speak publicly about the murders of British engineer Saad al-Hilli, his wife and mother-in-law.

He spoke as it emerged that a French judge and prosecutor were travelling to Britain as part of their inquiries.

Meanwhile, three more people were found in a car following a shooting on the French island of Corsica yesterday although there was no immediate evidence of any link.

It is nearly a week since the three Britons and a French cyclist came under a hail of gun fire in a secluded car park close to Lake Annecy. Mr D, an experienced hiker, told Le Parisien newspaper how he came across the scene after setting out with two female friends to go walking.

He recalled how the group was met by a “panic-stricken” British cyclist making his way down from the murder scene as they drove up a hill in the Combe d’Ire forest, near Chevaline.

The cyclist tried to explain in bad French what lay up ahead and said he wanted to call for help.

Arriving at the car park, Mr D saw the bodies of Mr al-Hilli, 50, his dentist wife Iqbal and Mrs al-Hilli’s mother in their bullet-riddled BMW.

A fourth body, that of Sylvain Mollier, 45, the French cyclist who apparently stumbled across the attack, lay on the ground. The family’s daughter Zainab, seven, was lying by the car.

“There wasn’t a single sound,” the walker said.

“It was like in a film. One of those television series where everything begins with a murder, only this time we were the actors and we did not have the remote control to change the channel.”

He added: “I approached the car. I did not touch anything but I saw that there was nothing that could be done. There was no sign of life.”

He then turned his attention to the little girl.

“She did not respond when we addressed her,” he said. “I clapped my hands but she did not react. I even spoke a few words of English because I saw that the car had a British number plate but nothing happened.

“As far as I could tell, she was dead.”

Zainab, who was shot and so brutally beaten that doctors placed her in a medically induced coma, is now seen as one of the key witnesses.

Police spoke briefly with her after she regained consciousness on Sunday and are waiting to question her further.

Her younger sister Zeena, four, escaped unscathed by cowering behind her mother. She has flown back to Britain with carers.

It has now emerged the al-Hilli family had moved from one campsite to another two days before they were gunned down. A Dutch couple believed the group planned to spend a week at the Village Camping Europa site in St Jorioz after they arrived last Saturday, but they left on Monday.

The campers said Mr al-Hilli acted strangely during that time, leaving his family alone several times each day. They also noticed an unusual man wearing a smart jacket visiting while the al-Hillis were there.

Officers are now examining all aspects of Mr al-Hilli’s life to find a motive for the murders.

It is unclear whether the second shooting, on the island of Corsica, could be linked to the attack in the Alps. A Foreign Office spokesman said the victims were not known to be British.