LOS ANGELES, Jan 14 (AFP) - A massive avalanche struck a ski area near the ritzy US resort of Park City on Friday, burying several people under a mountain of snow, police said.
Some media reports said that up to 15 people could be trapped in the avalanche in the resort western state of Utah where the Sundance Film Festival is due to begin next week, but officials said that estimate was high.
"We don't have definitive information at this point, but we know that multiple people are trapped," Summit County Sheriff Dave Edmunds told AFP, adding that the avalanche was a large one.
"But at this point, I think the estimates of 15 people are high," he said.
Sheriff's department officials had earlier said only that at least one skier was trapped under the snow.
Emergency services scrambled to rescue the skiers engulfed by the 300-500 meter-wide (yard) slide in The Canyons ski area.
Around 30 search and rescue workers, who are using shovels, beacon detectors and rescue dogs, will search for survivors for "as long as it takes," Edmunds said.
But in freezing temperatures, life expectancy after an avalanche is limited unless victims are not found quickly, Edmunds said.
Reporter Jill Atwood was in The Canyons when the snow slide hit in the Dutch Draw (eds: correct) area, which had been designated out of bounds to the public, shortly after 1:00 pm.
"It looks like someone took a knife and cut through the side of the mountain," she told CNN television. "A huge slab has fallen off and you can see where it came to rest in a valley."
The avalanche followed extremely heavy snowfalls across the area, including up to 2.7 meters (eight feet) since December 28 alone, leaving a very dense snow pack on mountainsides.
Officials said that while the area had been ruled out of bounds for skiers and hikers, it was impossible to physically block public access.
The Utah Avalanche Center had warned of a "considerable" danger of either man-sparked or natural avalanches on Friday, saying the consequences of a slide "are lethal."
"It's like playing with an armed nuclear bomb -- you can probably keep it from exploding, but do you want to take the chance?" said the service's Brett Kobernik, warning skiers to stay off dangerous slopes.
At least four natural avalanches took place earlier Friday and several others caused by ski patrols releasing snow packs with dynamite blasts, Kobernik said.
Park City is a popular ski resort about 30 miles (50 kilometers) east of Salt Lake City, where the world's premier independent movie showcase, the annual Sundance Film Festival, is due to begin Thursday.
Scores of Hollywood celebrities attend the festival, organised by screen star Robert Redford, and ski on the resort's slopes.
The avalanche was the latest in a string of weather related disasters to strike the western United States following heavy precipitations across the region. California has been worst hit, with 29 people feared dead.
Some 19 people are feared dead following a huge mudslide Monday in the small coastal town of La Conchita, northwest of Los Angeles, while a further 10 people died in incidents in the Los Angeles and Sacramento areas.

01/15/2005 00:20 GMT - AFP