A former Miss Teen Universe has died after suffering a heart attack the day before her 20th birthday.

Dutch model Lotte van der Zee suddenly fell ill while on a family skiing trip in Westendorf, Austria, to celebrate her big day.

The beauty queen from Enschede, east Netherlands, who won the global pageant in 2017, died on Wednesday after two weeks in a coma.

Lotte van der Zee's parents broke the news of her death in an Instagram post, sharing the last photo they had taken of her during their holiday in Austria

Lotte van der Zee (pictured, centre) won the global Miss Teen Universe pageant in 2017

Miss Van der Zee was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was put in a medically induced coma and transferred to a specialist hospital in Munich, Germany. But family members made the decision to 'let her go' on Wednesday after she suffered organ failure

Her parents have opened up about their grief in a heartbreaking post on the model's Instagram, sharing the final picture they took of their daughter.

The photograph sees the stunning model posing in the snow, in a red ski-suit and a black beanie, smiling for the camera.

'Our pearl, our everything passed away on Wednesday evening March 6th at 22:47. It is incredibly surreal that our dearly beloved Lotte is not around us anymore.

'Our hearts are truly broken. We would like to thank you all again for all the support and heartwarming messages.'

Miss van der Zee, who had embarked on a promising international career in modelling since winning Miss Teen Universe, had complained of feeling unwell when she woke up the day before her birthday.

The model, who won Miss Teen Universe in 2017, had complained of feeling unwell the day before her 20th birthday and then suffered a cardiac arrest

She had moved away from pageants and had started to work as a model

Miss Van der Zee, pictured with her mother Eugeniek, died after two weeks in a coma at a hospital in Munich, Germany

Mystery: It is not yet known why the young model (pictured) suffered a heart attack

Speaking to a local newspaper, her parents described how the young model had been out with friends the night before, but returned 'cheerfully and without health complaints'.

However, when she did not emerge for breakfast, they went to check on her and found her unwell in her bed.

Bert and Eugeniek van der Zee wrote on their daughter's Instagram that 'the feeling swiftly escalated in sudden cardiac arrest' that afternoon.

Winner: The blonde beauty is pictured at the time of her pageant win

After being resuscitated by her mother, Miss Van der Zee was rushed to a nearby hospital where she was put in a medically induced coma and transferred to a specialist hospital in Munich, Germany.

Speaking to local media Mrs Van der Zee said they had made the decision to 'let her go' on Wednesday after she suffered organ failure.

It is not yet known what caused her to have a heart attack, but the family said tests would be carried out.