The crash occurred on the A-1 motorway linking Vienna and Salzburg, said a police spokesman in the province of Upper Austria.

'One person died and several others are still trapped in the wrecks of their cars,' he said.

'It's too early to say what exactly caused the pile-up. But we had heavy snowfall this morning and the highway was covered in snow.'

The Austrian motoring association OeAMTC said some 100 cars and lorries were involved and one of its helicopters was at the scene. Other helicopters had to abort the rescue mission due to continuing heavy snowfall.

The Austria Press Agency reported that between 40 and 60 people were believed to be injured and that, of those, 15 to 20 were seriously hurt. Authorities declined to confirm the report, saying rescue efforts were ongoing.

The association said it expected the highway to be blocked in both directions until the evening. -- REUTERS, AP