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Grief-stricken relatives of two British sisters who survived the savage slaying of three people in the French Alps will be brought to the country to be reunited with them, authorities have said.
A caravan at Le Solitaire du Lac campsite in Saint-Jorioz thought to belong to the family was cordoned off, with its windows taped up.
British national John Hollingworth, 63, is on holiday at the camp and said people were enjoying their stay despite the tragedy.
The transport manager, from Devon, said: "The Brits were nattering about it, as Brits do, and we were near some Dutch people and they were talking about it, about having paparazzi peeping up over the hedges.
"Apart from that, we're sorry for the family but just getting on with the holiday."
Post-mortem examinations will be carried out later on Iraqi-born Saad al-Hilli, 50, who was gunned down in his car alongside his dentist wife, named by neighbours as Iqbal, and a woman believed to be her mother.
The motive behind the killings remained a mystery today, with French authorities investigating a number of lines of inquiry.
The al-Hillis' four-year-old daughter, named locally as Zeena, was found alive in the BMW estate underneath the bodies of her relatives around eight hours after the massacre, which also saw a passing French cyclist, Sylvain Mollier, 45, shot dead.
The couple's seven-year-old daughter, believed to be called Zainab, was in a medically induced coma in Grenoble University Hospital after being repeatedly beaten around the head and shot in the shoulder in the attack, which took place on Wednesday.
Three of the four who were killed were shot in the middle of the head.
Prosecutor Eric Maillaud said British police had reported that the girl's father was in dispute with his brother over money.
However, there was no evidence to suggest this was connected to the incident.
The children, apparently the only witnesses to the shootings on an isolated Alpine road, are now under police protection.
Sir Peter Ricketts, the British ambassador to France, said the elder girl was still "seriously ill" but in a stable condition in hospital.
He said both sisters would be looked after by British consular staff until members of their family could be brought to France.
Sir Peter said: "We're all determined to get to the bottom of this as soon as we can.
"Everybody shares the same determination that the perpetrators of this awful crime are brought to justice as soon as possible.
"This is particularly violent and brutal, but also has this heartrending dimension of the two small girls. It's a unique case in my experience."
Police said the motive for the attack remained a mystery but revealed there were signs of a vehicle braking at the scene.
Investigators said no weapon had been found and no arrests had been made.
It was also unclear if the shootings were carried out by one killer or a number of people.
One theory is that shots could have been fired during a bungled armed robbery, with Mr Mollier being a witness to the crime.
But speculation about other possible motives, including a pre-planned attack by professional hitmen, remained rife.
According to a family friend, known as James, Mr al-Hilli said his family moved to the UK in the 1970s after their mechanical engineering business was looked upon "unfavourably" by Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath party.
It was reported in the Daily Mail that Mr al-Hilli was known to the security services and was put under Metropolitan Police Special Branch surveillance during the second Gulf war.
A Scotland Yard spokesman said last night they could not comment because Mr al-Hilli had not yet been formally identified.
But at this stage, it is understood there is no link between the deaths and national security issues.
One of the family's neighbours in the upmarket village of Claygate in Surrey said yesterday he was going to alert police to something Mr al-Hilli said to him before travelling to the Le Solitaire du Lac campsite in Saint-Jorioz, close to the Swiss border.
Jack Saltman said: "I know one little thing which I am not prepared to speak (about) at the moment. I will tell the police about it.
"It was something Saad said to me before he went, but at this stage I do not feel I can disclose that, but I will tell the police exactly what he told me before he left."
Neighbours continued to pay tribute to the family today outside their home in Claygate.
Mr Saltman, who spoke to Mr al-Hilli the night before the family travelled to France, said he had been left "heartbroken" by the deaths.
He told ITV's Daybreak: "He was a delightful man. He was gregarious, friendly, an engineer by profession and always ready to help out if anything broke down.
"The mother was very quiet, very friendly. The children were adorable, both beautiful girls. The older one was very serious and talked beautifully eloquently."
French police continued to try and establish what happened today, with the man heading up the investigation into the killing spree playing down suggestions of "professionalism" in the attack.
Mr Maillaud told a press conference yesterday: "I won't say it was professional. What I will say is it was tremendous savagery. And what is certain is that somebody wanted to kill."
The powerful BMW, which has now been moved by police, was discovered surrounded by spent bullet cartridges in a car park near footpaths on the outskirts of a forest near Lake Annecy, a picturesque region popular with tourists.
The firearm used is believed to have been an automatic pistol.
A British cyclist, a former RAF serviceman who had been overtaken by the French rider, discovered the grisly scene in a quiet car park, Mr Maillaud said.
He is believed to have put the injured seven-year-old in the recovery position and immediately called the emergency services.
The prosecutor defended the delay in finding Zeena as he revealed she was receiving psychiatric treatment.
Police only realised there were two young girls in the family when they interviewed fellow holidaymakers at the campsite where they were staying.
Surrey Police said today they were continuing to assist the French authorities with the investigation.
A force spokeswoman said: "Surrey Police is currently assisting the French authorities and liaising with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office following the deaths of four people near Annecy in southern France yesterday.
"This is an ongoing investigation being carried out by the French police and we are unable to confirm any details about the incident."
Tragedy timeline
:: Wednesday September 5, 3.48pm:
A British cyclist calls the French police after finding three people shot dead in a car and the body of a French cyclist, also shot dead, nearby.
The Briton, a former member of the RAF, first saw a young girl collapse in front of him and went to her aid before contacting the emergency services.
He then approached the bullet-ridden BMW people carrier, which still had the engine running, and discovered the dead cycle-rider, a French national who had overtaken him earlier on a forest road in the Haute-Savoie region.
The cyclist broke into the British-registered car and turned the engine off before finding a dead man in the driver's seat and two dead women in the back.
:: 7.30pm:
The first reports emerge of the shootings, quoting a French official who said five people were dead. The official said the seven-year-old girl was found alive with bullet wounds by the cyclist, but later died.
The Foreign Office say they are looking into the killings urgently.
A local newspaper reports that 66 police officers were at the scene, near Lake Annecy, which was strewn with a large number of bullet cartridges.
:: 8pm:
Annecy prosecutor Eric Maillaud retracts his earlier statement that the seven-year-old girl was dead, and issues a correction saying that she is in a critical condition in intensive care in hospital in Grenoble.
:: 9.25pm:
Mr Maillaud says no weapon was found near the scene, which was like something seen in a film.
Forensic experts begin travelling from Paris to investigate the killings.
:: Thursday September 6, 5am:
French officials confirm the car owner was British and presumed to be a victim and the vehicle's other occupants were thought to be part of the same family. They also reveal a four-year-old girl was discovered alive and uninjured inside the BMW people carrier.
The family had been staying in a campsite in the Saint-Jorioz area, officials said.
:: 6am:
Mr Maillaud says the four-year-old girl was discovered "frozen still" under dead bodies during a forensic examination of the car, around eight hours after the initial discovery.
He confirms the older girl had been stabilised in hospital following emergency surgery.
Mr Maillaud says the gun used in the killings was believed to be a semi-automatic pistol. He says "a very large number" of shots were fired and 15 bullet cartridges were found at the scene.
British consular staff arrive in Grenoble and begin making their way to the scene.
:: 10.30am:
Mr Maillaud says the four-year-old girl was found "terrorised, immobile, in the midst of the bodies".
"As soon as the first forensics began, we were able to open the vehicle, and it was at that moment we discovered the little girl, around four-years-old, that nobody had seen, because she hadn't moved, completely in shock and completely frozen," he says.
12:30pm:
It emerges that the seven-year-old girl was violently beaten in the head and had brain injuries.
Mr Maillaud says the four-year-old girl was spotted late in the day because police immediately sealed off the area in the aftermath of the killings and, owing to the gravity of the operation, waited for back-up to come from Paris before they examined the scene.
The dead cyclist is named locally as Sylvain Mollier.
1pm:
Foreign Secretary William Hague tweets: "Terrible, tragic shooting in France.
"British Embassy team on the scene. Our thoughts are with the young girls who survived and the family."
1.50pm:
The dead man in the car is named by French media as Saad al-Hilli, from Claygate, near Esher in Surrey.
Mr al-Hilli, in his 50s, had been behind the wheel at the time of the attack.
2.50pm:
Three of the four victims, including Mr al-Hilli, were shot in the middle of the head in an act of "gross savagery", Mr Maillaud says.
The prosecutor reveals that Mr al-Hilli was 50 years old, was originally from Iraq and held British citizenship.
Mr Maillaud also reveals that Swedish and Iraqi passports had been recovered along with the driver's British passport.
Police say the motive for the attack remained a mystery but revealed there were signs of a vehicle braking at the scene.
4.20pm:
Neighbours name Mr al-Hilli's family as as wife Iqbal and daughters Zainab, seven, and Zeena, four.
4.50pm:
Surrey neighbour Lorna Davey says her daughter attended Claygate Primary School with Zainab, while Zeena was due to start at the school this year.
The family would often go on holiday in their caravan and had been away on their latest trip for at least three weeks, Ms Davey says.
Mrs al-Hilli took dentistry exams in the last few months, she added.
6.30pm:
A friend of the family, known as James, says Mr al-Hilli and his family moved to the UK in the 1970s after their mechanical engineering business was looked upon "unfavourably" by Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath party.
