The 38-year-old was trekking in ski boots, carrying his son on his back, along with a group of German tourists near the town of Adelboden.

Both were buried under the snow for close to an hour and the father had died by the time rescuers reached them.

The child, suffering from hypothermia, was taken by ambulance to a hospital in the Swiss capital of Bern but died later that evening.

A 14-year-old skier who was caught in an avalanche at the weekend near the eastern resort of Davos also died in hospital on Tuesday, local police said.

The youngster, who came from Tessin in southern Switzerland, was skiing off piste when the avalanche occurred on Sunday.

He was buried under about 40 centimetres (1.3 feett) of snow for around 45 minutes before being rescued. He died in hospital in Chur, in the canton (region) of Grisons.

The fatalities brought to four the number of deaths through avalanches this winter in Switzerland.

TERRA.WIRE