One person has been killed and another seriously injured in an avalanche that hit a California ski resort.
The avalanche struck the Alpine Meadows Ski resort west of Lake Tahoe on Friday morning, authorities said.
Search and rescue teams were dispatched at around 11.20am to the scene, near the Subway ski run, to look for those missing under the snow.
Placer Sherriff Department and the Tahoe Nordic Search & Rescue are at the scene.
Sergeant Mike Powers said: "At approximately 10.30 this morning we received a report of an avalanche up above the Subway ski run.
"This is an advance ski area and at this point there is no reason to believe there is any other area of the resort or Alpine Meadows in jeopardy.
"Currently, we have one confirmed fatality and we have another victim with serious injuries.
"We are scouring the mountain right now with search and rescue personnel and avalanche dogs in an attempt to locate any other victims," he added.
At least a foot of snow fell at the ski resort in the 24 hours preceding the avalanche, with areas in the higher elevations picking up as much as two feet.
The Sierra Avalanche Center rated avalanche conditions Friday as “considerable” for all elevations.
The centre noted that a new layer of snow from this week’s storm brought a high degree of uncertainty to snowpack stability.
Deadly avalanches are not unusual at Alpine Meadows, local reports have said.
