Five people have been killed in an avalanche that buried a group of 17 Czech skiers in Austria, police have said.

The major snowslip hit the group shortly after noon in the Tyrol region in western Austria.

It was not immediately clear how many people were still missing. Search and rescue operations are still underway on Saturday afternoon.

Police had said earlier that some people were injured, others unharmed.

The entire skiing region had been on a level three avalanche alert, which warns of a 'considerable' risk of snowslips.