THEY SURVIVED THE ALPS MASSACRE AS CHILDREN — NOW THE SISTERS MAY HAVE TO RETURN TO THE SCENE 14 YEARS LATER

A newly discovered pistol at the bottom of Lake Annecy has breathed fresh life into one of France’s most mysterious unsolved cases.

More than a decade after their family was killed in a horrifying attack in the French Alps, two sisters who survived the massacre could now be asked to return to the scene where their childhood was shattered.

Zainab and Zeena al-Hilli were just seven and four years old when their family was attacked near Lake Annecy in eastern France in September 2012.

Their parents, British-Iraqi engineer Saad al-Hilli, 50, and Iqbal al-Hilli, 47, were killed alongside Iqbal’s mother, Suhaila al-Allaf, 74.

French cyclist Sylvain Mollier, 45, was also killed.

The case has remained unsolved for years.

Now, an extraordinary new development may give investigators another chance to uncover what happened.

THE SISTERS SURVIVED IN VERY DIFFERENT WAYS

Zainab suffered a gunshot wound to the shoulder and was also struck around the head with a gun.

Her younger sister Zeena survived by hiding inside the family’s BMW.

The girls were eventually rescued, but the investigation into the attack has continued for more than a decade.

Now adults, they are reportedly aged 21 and 18.

French prosecutors are considering bringing the sisters back to the isolated Alpine location for a crime-scene reenactment.

The aim would not simply be to recreate the attack.

Investigators hope that returning to the physical location, combined with specialist interviews, could trigger memories or details that may help investigators understand the sequence of events.

A GUN AT THE BOTTOM OF THE LAKE

The potential reenactment comes after a remarkable discovery in nearby Lake Annecy.

Two British divers reportedly discovered a pistol at the bottom of the lake last week.

The weapon is described as a rare Luger P06/29 Parabellum 7.65, a type of pistol that investigators have linked to the weapon used in the 2012 killings.

Fragments of a pistol grip recovered during the original investigation had previously led forensic experts to identify the suspected murder weapon as a Luger-type firearm.

The newly discovered gun has now been recovered and sent for forensic examination.

But authorities have not yet established that it is the weapon used in the massacre.

The years spent underwater could also make forensic testing particularly difficult.

COULD RETURNING TO THE SCENE REVEAL SOMETHING NEW?

Marie-Celine Lawrysz, a prosecutor with France’s Nanterre cold-case unit, said investigators were considering a reconstruction involving the sisters.

She explained that experienced investigators can use carefully conducted interviews and reconstructions at the original location to potentially obtain new information from traumatised witnesses or victims.

However, no date has been set.

Authorities must first obtain the sisters’ consent and secure funding for the trip.

ANOTHER PERSON OF INTEREST

The renewed investigation is not focused solely on the mysterious pistol.

French authorities are also reportedly preparing to re-interview a Danish man whose phone was detected in the area around the time of the killings.

He has never been publicly named.

According to reports, investigators previously questioned him, but he remains a person of interest in the continuing investigation.

His presence alone does not establish that he was involved.

14 YEARS — AND STILL NO ANSWER

The killings shocked France and Britain, but the identity and motive of the attacker remain unresolved.

The discovery beneath Lake Annecy has now given investigators a potentially important new piece of evidence.

And if Zainab and Zeena do return to the mountain road where they survived as children, investigators will be hoping that the landscape itself can unlock memories that have remained buried for years.

For two sisters who escaped the attack when they were only children, however, returning to that place could mean confronting one of the most traumatic moments of their lives all over again.

Four people were killed. Two children survived. Fourteen years later, investigators are still searching for the missing answers.