An avalanche near the Portillo ski resort in Chile's Andes killed three hikers on Saturday afternoon, El País and La Tercera reported. Four other people were injured, one of them critically, El País and La Tercera reported. Both reports are in Spanish, and the quotes below are translated.

The avalanche hit near Laguna del Inca, a lake by the resort in the Los Andes area of the Valparaíso region, El País and La Tercera reported. Seven climbers were hiking up a trail toward a peak when the snow slid and they ended up in the lake, prosecutor Pamela Ruiz said, according to La Tercera. The regional presidential delegate put the time at 2:45 p.m., El País reported, and Chile's disaster agency, Senapred, gave the same time, the broadcaster T13 reported.

Two bodies had been recovered by Saturday night, and the third was still in the lake, Ruiz said, according to La Tercera. She said officials had asked the Chilean Navy to help recover it on Sunday, La Tercera reported. The injured were taken to the hospital in Los Andes, La Tercera reported.

The resort had closed for the season, El País and La Tercera reported. Los Andes Mayor Manuel Rivera said signs in the area banned entry because of avalanche risk. "This is the result of human negligence," Rivera said, according to El País (translated). Rivera said the resort's security chief had warned the group, El País and La Tercera reported.

"The area where the accident happened is outside the authorized ski area," Portillo manager Miguel Purcell said in a statement, according to La Tercera (translated).

El País reported that the hikers were Chilean. The regional presidential delegate, Manuel Millones, said the group came from Santiago, La Tercera reported. Prosecutors and police are investigating, El País and La Tercera reported. Officials have not named the dead.

What we know: Three hikers died and four were hurt in an avalanche by Laguna del Inca near Portillo.
What we don't: Who the victims are and what the investigation will find.