Vienna: As the ski season gets underway, a series of avalanches in Austria have claimed the lives of three people since Friday. Authorities have issued warnings about the dangers posed by an especially unstable snow cover.

A police spokesman told AFP that "one winter sports enthusiast was killed in an avalanche in Kaltenbach on Saturday," but he would not elaborate on the specifics of the accident that occurred in the sleepy Alpine community.

The victim was a 17-year-old New Zealander who was off-piste skiing, according to the Austrian news agency APA. A 32-year-old Chinese man who was reportedly skiing off the marked trails died in an avalanche on Friday in the resort of Soelden. Following a missing person report the day before, a third victim was discovered dead on Saturday.

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The 50-year-old man passed away in the Kleinwalsertal valley near the German border, according to the APA. The Alpine Tyrol and Vorarlberg regions have experienced increased avalanche danger over the last two days due to heavy snowfall and wind. Both of these well-known ski resort areas have issued alerts advising winter sports enthusiasts to use caution.

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On a scale of one to five, a level four alert has not, according to authorities, deterred many tourists from leaving the marked slopes. Numerous dangerous rescue operations were carried out on Saturday due to the avalanche situation.

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After a gloomy start to the season marked by the lack of snow at low and medium altitudes, the February school holidays have started in Vienna and resorts are full. An average of 20 people have died on the slopes each year on average in Austria, a popular winter sports destination, in recent years.