VIENNA | A "dozen" of winter sports enthusiasts were buried Sunday in an avalanche that occurred in Austria, in the Vorarlberg region (west), police said.

“One person was saved, while the operation continues to find the others,” a spokesperson told AFP, without further details on their fate.

Helicopters and several teams accompanied by dogs were mobilized for the search.

The avalanche was triggered around 3 p.m. local time (9 a.m. Quebec time) at approximately 2,700 meters above sea level, in the Lech Zürz ski area.

No information was given on the identity of those affected.

Rescuers had warned this weekend of a high avalanche danger in this area as well as in neighboring Tyrol, pointing out the fragility of the snowpack in a context of mild weather.

In recent years, in Austria, snowslides have caused an annual average of around twenty deaths.