Three people are dead and others feared buried in snow after an avalanche struck a snowmobile competition near Revelstoke, British Columbia, police said.
As many as 200 people were thought to have been watching snowmobile competitors ride up and down the slopes of Boulder Mountain when the avalanche occurred Saturday afternoon, according to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
It was not known if other people were still trapped in the snow, but avalanche search teams have been brought to the Revelstoke to help with the rescue effort. Revelstoke is about 300 kilometres west of Calgary, Alberta.
Police said at least a dozen people were injured, some seriously.
Local media report quoted witnesses as saying the avalanche carried some of the snowmobilers as much as 200 metres down the mountain, but it was not clear if the snow struck just the competitors or the audience as well.
The Canadian Avalanche Centre, which is based in Revelstoke, had warned local residents that the risk of avalanches in the backcountry mountain areas was high because of recent snowfall.
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