A 25-year-old man from Rotterdam has died after colliding with a snowmaking machine while skiing in Austria.

Local police said the incident happened on a red piste in the Fiss ski area, in the Tirol region, at 12.45pm on Saturday.

The man collided head-first with the snow cannon as he was overtaking another skier at a point where the piste narrowed.

Passing skiers and an emergency doctor who arrived by helicopter were unable to resuscitate the man, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

Altogether 125 skiers have died on the European slopes this winter, mostly in avalanches.