A boy has died after being buried under snow about 40 metres away from his family in "white out" conditions at a Victorian ski resort.
The 7-year-old wandered off from his family while they were outside playing in the snow at Mt Buller.
He was found only 40-50 metres away, buried under a snow dump from a roof.
Mt Buller Police acting Sergeant Matt Bennett said the boy was completely buried underneath the snow.
"We believe that there's been some sort of slide off maybe the roof of a building which has engulfed him," he told Fairfax Radio on Thursday.
"He wasn't far from his other siblings, who obviously didn't see where he went."
The boy was at Mt Buller for a family holiday with his parents and two siblings.
The family searched for the boy before quickly alerting authorities, with police, the CFA, resort staff and ski patrol members all looking for him.
The seven-year-old was found unconscious around 6.30pm on Wednesday near a chalet, nearly two hours after he went missing.
He was taken to Mt Buller Medical Centre but later died from cardiac arrest after doctors spent "significant time" trying to revive him, Ambulance Victoria said.
The apparent temperature on the mountain was around -10degC at the time he went missing.
Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Terry Ryan said snowfall and low cloud cover had created a "white out" effect with visibility dropping to about 30 metres.
