Sisters who survived massacre of British family in the Alps may return to the scene for a reenactment, French cops reveal days after gun was found in nearby lake

Two sisters who miraculously survived the massacre of their family in the Alps may return to the scene of the crime for a reenactment, French authorities have said.

Saad Al–Hilli, 50, an Iraq–born satellite engineer from Surrey, was shot dead at the wheel of his BMW on a remote mountain road near Lake Annecy in 2012.

His wife Iqbal, 47, her mother Suhaila, 74, and local cyclist Sylvain Mollier, 45, were also killed in a hail of bullets during the incident, which sent shockwaves throughout Europe.

The Al–Hilli's seven-year-old daughter, Zainab Al–Hilli, was shot in the shoulder and beaten around the head with the gun, while her sister, Zeena Al–Halli, four, escaped by hiding in the back of the family's BMW car. 

The two children survived the killings, although Zainab was seriously injured.

Now, Marie-Celine Lawrysz, a prosecutor for the Nanterre cold case unit, told French outlet RTL that she was considering a reenactment of the events in the presence of the two sisters, now aged 18 and 21.

She believes the reenactment could be crucial to unearth new details from the two women's memories of the day.

The car at the murder scene in the forest near Chevaline and Lake Annecy in the French Alps is pictured

The campsite 'Le Solitaire du lac' is seen here

The aim is 'to bring them to France and to the scene of the events to try to rework their memories and perhaps obtain additional information,' she explained. 

'We see this in other cases, with reconstructions involving interviews and very specific methods, with investigators highly experienced in interviewing traumatized victims who, at the scene of the events, can obtain details and new information from witnesses or victims.'

However, a reenactment date has not been set in place yet as authorities must first obtain the consent of the sisters and finance the trip. 

It comes after a rare pistol of the same type used to brutally gun down the British family was found at the bottom of a nearby lake in late August.

Hand–grip fragments of a rare Luger PO6/29, Parabellum 7.65, were found at the scene after the crime, leading forensics experts to conclude that it was the weapon used.

Police divers have now found the same kind of Swiss Army sidearm at the bottom of Lake Annecy, which at its deepest is 82meters.

An investigating source previously said: 'It was found in the water last week. The gun was immediately salvaged, and rushed away for forensic analysis.

'The time it has spent in the water will clearly make analysis extremely complex, but the priority is to work out if it was the one used in the quadruple murder.'

Detectives discovered the murder weapon was the kind of Luger issued to Swiss soldiers between 1909 and 1947, after being manufactured in either Switzerland or Germany.

Sabine Khéris, a magistrate who specialises in cold cases, later narrowed the scope of the inquiry by determining that the gun was built in 1935, when only 940 such Lugers were manufactured.

Khéris said the killer was likely to have been 'methodical and calm', and had undoubtedly received 'shoot to kill' training, after performing 'double taps' on his victims.

A 'double tap' involves a shooter hitting a victim with a bullet, and then using another one to confirm a kill.

While DNA was once thought to be completely washed away in deep water, advancements in forensic technology mean profiles can sometimes be recovered.

Additionally, the gun will have a serial number which could help investigators track down its precise history, potentially up to the point it came into the hands of the murderer.

Experts working for France's cold case unit in the Paris suburb of Nanterre will re–test the original gun fragments from the scene of the crime, and compare them with the newly discovered pistol.

Saad Al–Hilli (pictured), 50, an Iraq–born satellite engineer from Surrey, was shot dead at the wheel of his BMW on a remote mountain road near Lake Annecy in 2012

The British Al-Hilli family were slaughtered in a hail of bullets fired from a a Luger PO6/29 - a semi-automatic pistol of Swiss origin (pictured)

 A theory previously emerged over the identity of the assailant, pointing towards a mystery 'camper' who pitched a tent near the mass shooting of the Brit family and by the scene of another random tourist murder, where a rare Swiss gun was also used.

An alleged Danish national was staying at a campsite on a rented pitch in the campsite of Saint-Jorioz, where the Al-Hilli family had set up their caravan from September 1, 2012.

Arriving on September 3, the 'Dane' - whose identity cannot be confirmed - left on September 5, the day of the Chevaline massacre.

French investigators claimed they had traced the same individual to a campsite less than six miles from the murder scene of another tourist Xavier Baligant, a year earlier. The site is about 300 miles north of where the Brit family was killed. 

This man was therefore present at two murders, a year apart - where rare Swiss weapons were used.

However, it is not clear whether the 'camper' had booked under his own name or whether false details had been provided.

Prosecutors previously admitted a forensics officer accidentally contaminated key evidence with his own DNA, and that the area around the crime scene was inexplicably reopened to the public just 48 hours after the massacre.

The case has been plagued by speculation over possible motives, ranging from Al-Hilli's high-security work in the satellite industry to family disputes over inheritance.

The father-of-three was reportedly shot first and last, with more bullets than anyone else.