One Dutchman has been killed in an avalanche in the French Savoy near the Italian border and two others are missing, French media reported on Wednesday.

The three, aged 20 to 25, were apparently snowboarding off-piste on Tuesday when they were hit by the avalanche in the afternoon. There had been an avalanche warning in the area, the Telegraaf said.

The body of one young man was found on Tuesday evening and the search for the others will resume on Wednesday.

French newspaper Le Dauphine  said the area near Valfréjus where the three were snowboarding is known to be dangerous. They had apparently sent a text message to friends at around 16.00 saying they were lost.

However, the Dutchman who received the text did not read it until an hour later and the guide was not warned until 19.00, the paper said.

According to the Telegraaf, the three were students in Nijmegen and part of a group of  20 youngsters on a skiing midweek.