The devastated family of a snowboarder who died in a tragic accident when he suffocated after landing headfirst in deep snow have spoken of their grief.

Father-of-two David Ewart, 48, of Hade Edge, died on holiday in the popular ski resort of St Anton am Arlberg, located in the Austrian state of Tyrol.

He was with two friends aged 47 and 48 and going down a slope from the Valluga ski lift. It’s thought that Mr Ewart plunged into a hidden crevasse.

According to local media reports, Mr Ewart was stuck in the snow and while his friends desperately tried to dig him out but it was only when other skiers approached the group that they were able to pull him free.

It’s understood paramedics arrived quickly and tried to resuscitate him but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

St Anton has struggled with avalanches this year. Photo credit: Getty

St Anton police officer Patrick Wechner is quoted as saying: “You think you’re on firm ground and then suddenly you fall into an abyss.”

Mr Ewart, a Huddersfield Town fan, who had a civil engineering background, worked in the construction industry, the length and breadth of the country.

His distraught parents Brian and Judith, of Holmfirth, told the Examiner they were yet to hear precisely what had happened to their son from the authorities and were waiting to find out.

Paying tribute to Mr Ewart they said: “He will be loved and missed by all. He always loved fun. He was definitely a family man. He lived for his family, his two daughters and wife Cath.”

And they were anxious to clarify that the friends had not been snowboarding off piste with Judith saying: “He played by the rules.”

Mr Ewart’s wife Cath was too upset to speak but a close friend of the family, Homy Vaziri, 73, said they had known both him and his brother from being young children.

He added: “He was an absolutely fantastic young man, so polite and civilised. We are totally shocked.

“Brian and Judith are devastated but the family is very close-knit and supporting one another very well. My wife and I have known them for 37 years.

“He was an extremely warm person. That’s what struck you about him particularly, his sincerity and his warmth. I used to go to Huddersfield Town matches with him, he’s a season ticket holder and a very keen fan. In fact he and Richard and Brian are all keen fans.”

A Foreign Office spokesman said: “We are providing assistance to the family of a British man who sadly died in Austria.”