A British man, among 10 people, swept away by an avalanche in the Swiss Alps, has died.

The victim, named in online tributes as Jamie Clark, 38, died in the alpine resort of Verbier, on Monday. Eight other people escaped uninjured, local police said, while one was flown to hospital with serious injuries.

It is believed Mr Clark, originally from Doncaster, had been working as a chef in the resort for several years before he died. Friends and family have posted on Facebook describing Jamie with such passionate words. One friend described Mr Clark as "a sound lad" who "always had time for a chat with anyone". Another said: "Always a laugh and always there to chat... top lad, will be missed."

A police statement said the avalanche occurred outside the piste between the Verbier ski area and Les Attelas.

"At around 10.20am, a skier was driving down a corridor below the Attelas area" it said.

"A snow drift came loose and carried the skier as well as another person who had been further down at the time."

Helicopters and dog teams were deployed to locate the people caught in the incident. All ten of the people caught by the avalanche were wearing GPS locators and emergency services were able to dig out all the group members. However, Mr Clark was declared dead at the scene.  Another person found by the emergency services was airlifted to hospital in the nearby town of Sion. The risk for the area that day was three out of five, meaning there was 'considerable' danger. 

Police said an investigation has been launched, which follows several days of heavy snowfall across Switzerland, which claimed the life of another skier who died after being buried alive by an avalanche while skiing in Gstaad.