Three heli-skiers were killed Monday after an avalanche in southeastern B.C. swept the men away, according to RCMP.

The RCMP said the avalanche occurred in the village of Kaslo, on the east side of Kootenay Lake, around 1 p.m. PT.

“Two groups of skiers had just finished skiing the bowl and were waiting in a staging area below the tree line of Clute Creek water shed. A transport helicopter was nearing the group when the pilot observed an avalanche and sounded the siren,” the RCMP said in a news release.

One group of skiers was able to run out safely but the other group of four men was swept away into the tree line, RCMP said.

Three of the men were found dead, according to RCMP — a 44-year-old Whistler man, a 45-year-old Idaho man and their 53-year-old guide from Kaslo.

A fourth man, a 40-year-old from Nelson, was critically injured, police said. The BC Coroners Service is now investigating.

CBC News has reached out to Avalanche Canada for more information.