The three, all thought to be German, were skiing about 7,900 ft up the Val Senales glacier in South Tyrol, near the Austrian border.

A team of 70 workers and three helicopters helped recover the bodies in a search operation.

The reports said two victims died at the scene, while one of the girls was airlifted to hospital but died en route.

There have been a number of avalanches in the Alps this winter.