Alps shooting survivor out of coma

A seven-year-old British girl seriously wounded in a French Alps shooting has come out of an artificial coma, while her younger sister has returned to Britain, a prosecutor says.

"The little girl has come out of the artificial coma but she is under sedation and her speech is not yet audible," Annecy prosecutor Eric Maillaud told AFP on Sunday. "She is in a better state of health now."

Her four-year-old sister, another survivor of Wednesday's quadruple murder, is now back in Britain, he added.

Seven-year-old Zainab al-Hilli is a key witness, being the only one who could detail the number of killers and describe them.

Her younger sister, who spent eight hours hidden behind the bodies of her mother and an elderly relative in the back seat of their car, has said she heard shots but saw nothing.

Zainab was put in a state of artificial coma to allow her to recover. She suffered a fractured skull after probably being pistol-whipped and was shot in the shoulder.

She will he questioned by investigators specialising in child witnesses.

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