Coroner Barb McLintock said the fatality occurred Friday afternoon near Sparwood in southeast B.C. close to the Alberta border.
"Our understanding is there's one dead...," said McLintock.
There were unconfirmed media reports the victims were on snowmobiles.
The Canadian Avalanche Centre issued a warning Friday that the backcountry avalanche risk was high due to weak layers in the snowpack.
McLintock told The Canadian Press that search-and-rescue officials received a satellite phone call from a group of people in a remote area about 30 kilometres southeast of Sparwood, where cellphone coverage is non existent.
She said a coroner was dispatched to the scene just after 2 p.m..
Ben Mittelsteadt, a spokesman for the BC Ambulance Service, said paramedics had taken three people to hospital with minor injuries.
Dangerous weather conditions forced paramedics to wait until Saturday morning to airlift two others from nearby Fernie, he said.
The pair _ who are in stable condition _ were airlifted to hospital just before 7 a.m. local time then transferred to another facility in Cranbrook, about 90 kilometres west, he said.
Friday's fatality is the second avalanche-related death in B.C. this week. Read More
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