Caught in an avalanche, two men were found dead in the central region of Nagano, police said on Monday.
Japanese authorities have not identified the two men at this stage.
Freestyle snowboarder Kyle Smaine, 31, was killed in an avalanche in Nagano on Sunday, according to Instagram posts by men who were traveling with the champion, the
Mountain Gazette
ski magazine wrote.
The newspaper said he was with another professional skier, Adam U, and the publication's major photographer, Grant Gunderson.
“My worst nightmare” happened, wrote the latter on Instagram, specifying that an avalanche had been triggered by another skier.
Kyle Smaine would have "been thrown 50 meters further by the blast of air, buried and killed".
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A post shared by Grant Gunderson (@grant_gunderson)
A police official, Tomohiro Kushibiki, explained that two men had been found in “cardio-respiratory arrest”, a formula commonly used in Japan before the death was confirmed by a coroner.
Kushibiki said he could not confirm the identity of the two men.
They were off-piste skiing near Otari resort on Sunday with 11 other skiers and snowboarders when the avalanche formed.
While an avalanche warning is in effect in the region, three other people were caught in the snowfall but managed to get out.
Two foreign nationals were still missing on Sunday evening.
Fans were quick to leave tributes under a video Kyle Smaine posted to Instagram on Sunday, showing him skiing.
He was a halfpipe gold medalist at the 2015 Freestyle Snowboard World Championships in Austria.