Several skiers have been caught in avalanches or lost in snowy mountains across Japan in just the past few days. Police have confirmed that one of two people killed in an avalanche last weekend was a world-champion skier from the US.

Kyle Smaine, aged 31, was backcountry skiing in Japan's central prefecture of Nagano. He was killed along with an Austrian national identified as Christoph Schoefegger, who was part of another group.

NHK has learned Smaine was being paid by Nagano's tourism organization to photograph ski resorts. Officials with the organization say they were unaware of Smaine's itinerary and his plans to backcountry ski.

Smaine won the world championship in ski halfpipe in 2015. The US Free Ski Team posted about his death on social media, calling him "an incredible person, friend, skier and teammate."

Meanwhile, police in Niigata Prefecture say four people from Finland were able to return to safety after being reported lost in the mountains.

The group had been skiing and snowboarding on one of the peaks of the Myoko mountain range on Monday. They told police a snowstorm caused them to lose track of their companions. They were able to find their way back Tuesday morning.

In Tottori Prefecture, police say two backcountry skiers were injured in an avalanche in Daisen Town on Tuesday. They were airlifted to a hospital by a fire department helicopter.