LJUBLJANA, Oct 6, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - A Croatian mountaineer died and two more were missing after being swept by an avalanche in northwestern Slovenia, police said on Sunday.

"Rescue teams recovered a body... but the search operation had to be stopped due to hard weather conditions and avalanche threat," police spokesman Bostjan Repinc told AFP, adding that the search operation would resume on Monday.

The three mountaineers were part of a Croatian group of seven staying in a hut near the Tosc mountain and decided to start their descent on Sunday morning despite the worsening weather conditions.

A rescue operation with more than 60 people was launched shortly after the avalanche.

But the police said the rain, snow and wind meant they could not use helicopters until the afternoon, when the first body was recovered.