Tyrol avalanche: Four killed in Austrian Alps snowslide

Rescuers searching for missing fourth person in remote area near the Jochgrubenkopf found him dead under 10m of snow

Four of the eight skiiers were able to free themselves from the snow (Sean Gallup/Newsmakers)

Four Swiss men have been killed after their ski group was swept away by an avalanche in Austria, police said.

The group of eight skiiers was touring the remote area near the Jochgrubenkopf, a roughly 2,450m-high peak in the remote area near Tyrol, when the avalanche struck around 12.30pm local time (11.30am GMT).

"Four of them were able to free themselves [from the snow]," a spokeswoman for Tyrol police said.

"After the search operation for the remaining four, three were found dead."

The fourth man was later found dead under 10m of snow despite a search using drilling machines.

It is the latest fatal avalanche to strike in the region.

Since the beginning of the season, there have been 14 avalanches in the Alps and the Pyrenees, which have killed at least seven.

Last season, there were 45 incidents, which killed 21 people.

In January, 29 people died when an avalanche buried the small Hotel Rigopiano in Italy.