Vienna - Up to 15 people were feared to be buried by a large avalanche Sunday in the Hinterstoder skiing area in Austria, according to media reports.

Witnesses saw the avalanche at around 10:30 local time and reported that between 10 and 15 backcountry skiers were trapped under the snow. Police told Austrian press agency APA that they assumed that "several" people were buried.

Up to 40 rescue workers and several several helicopters were dispatched to the site in the Upper Austria province.

On Saturday, a German couple died in an avalanche in the Zillertal valley in Tyrol, as temperatures were rising and the masses of heavy, wet snow swept them away. (dpa)