The New Zealand woman killed in an avalanche in the Italian Alps has been named by international media as Katherine Clarke.

Clarke, 39, was a New Zealand citizen based in London. She is originally from Dunedin and was due to celebrate her ninth wedding anniversary tomorrow.

The Guardian reported Clarke was identified by Italian rescuers alongside Matthew Ziegler, 43, Nicolas Bruno Vergez, 36, and Wespazjan Wisla, 38.

The quartet had been missing since about midday on Sunday - the alarm was raised when the group failed to turn up at a meeting point with friends, according to the Telegraph.

The Telegraph reported the group were believed to have been engulfed by an avalanche, near Courmayeur, and buried under 1.8m of snow.

Efforts to recover the bodies were hampered by extremely steep terrain and the risk of further avalanches, The Telegraph said.

An MFAT spokeswoman said the New Zealand Embassy in Rome was providing assistance to the family of a New Zealand citizen who has been killed in an avalanche near Courmayeur in Italy.

It was a tragic weekend for fatalities in the Alps, according to the Telegraph, with at least nine people losing their lives - including the four struck by the avalanche near Courmayeur.