Two men were confirmed to have died in a backcountry accident near a ski resort in Nagano Prefecture, police said Monday, a day after the pair were caught in an avalanche.
Authorities said they were unable to immediately confirm the nationalities of the men, who are believed to be foreign citizens.
But U.S. ski magazine Mountain Gazette reported that one of the dead was professional skier Kyle Smaine, a native of South Lake Tahoe, California.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.