BERLIN (AP) — The Austria Press Agency says that three mountain climbers have been killed in an avalanche in the Austrian Alps and authorities are trying to locate a man still missing.

The report, citing police, says that the climbers had been part of an eight-person group when the avalanche hit at about 12:30 p.m. (1130 GMT; 7:30 a.m. EDT) Wednesday.

Four of them were able to free themselves from the snow on their own and alerted rescue crews.

The avalanche came on the 2,450-meter-high (8,050-foot) Jochgrubenkopf mountain, southeast of Innsbruck, and measured about 700 meters (2,300 feet) long with snow depth reaching 12 meters (40 feet).