Four skiers including three Czechs have died in an avalanche in Kyrgyzstan, the Czech foreign ministry and Kyrgyz state media said on Monday.
The accident occurred in the country's northeast, close to the border with Kazakhstan and China, where a French tourist died at the beginning of February in similar circumstances.
"Twenty three tourists from the Czech Republic and Slovakia were skiing when an avalanche was triggered," the Kabar state news agency reported, citing rescue services.
Czech foreign ministry spokeswoman Mariana Wernerova told AFP that three of the dead skiers were Czech nationals.
"We can confirm that three Czech citizens have died in an avalanche on the border between Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan," she said.
"Our diplomats in Astana are in touch with local authorities and the travel agency," Wernerova added.
Slovak foreign ministry spokeswoman Beatrice Szaboova declined to immediately confirm if the fourth victim was Slovak.
A former Soviet country, Kyrgyzstan has for years been trying to invest in its still underdeveloped tourism sector, particularly in winter sports.
It recently eased visa restrictions in a bid to attract more foreign tourists, many of whom come for its vast and towering mountain ranges that reach some 7,000 metres (23,000 feet) in altitude.