Several people have reportedly been swept away by an avalanche in Zermatt, Switzerland, on Monday amidst high avalanche risks in the southern Alps of Austria and Switzerland.
Rescue services have launched a search, the police in the canton of Valais said on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
The avalanche happened shortly after 2 pm (1200 GMT) on Monday. The Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (WLF) had warned of a high avalanche risk in the morning.
"Very large and occasionally extremely large spontaneous avalanches are to be expected," the Swiss Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) said in Davos on Easter Monday.
Austria's Tyrol avalanche report spoke of a "partly critical avalanche situation," with particular dangers above the tree line.
There had been a lot of fresh snow at higher altitudes in the previous days. The strong winds caused large accumulations of drifting snow, which are particularly susceptible to disruption, according to all descriptions of the situation.
Spontaneous avalanches at high altitudes could also sweep away old wet snow at medium altitudes, the report added.
Avalanche experts were monitoring the situation in the ski resorts in order to close endangered ski pistes.
Skiers who head off the marked pistes are at greater risk.
In Switzerland, 14 people lost their lives in 12 avalanche accidents in the winter of 2023-24 up to the end of March.