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Two skiers were killed and one was rescued by helicopter after an avalanche in the mountains outside Salt Lake City in Utah on Thursday.

The avalanche hit near Lone Peak, an area that had recently received over 30in (76cm) of snow.

Two men were confirmed dead by the Utah Avalanche Center (UAC), while a third was winched to safety.

Their bodies could not be recovered immediately due to harsh conditions, the centre said.

The UAC said fatal avalanches were rare this late in the year.

The deaths were announced on Thursday afternoon after rescue crews spent hours trying to locate the men.

Officials visited the accident site in the Little Cottonwood Canyon by helicopter and confirmed two skiers had died.

Work crews will conduct avalanche "mitigation" work in order to make the area safe for rescuers, according to CBS affiliate KUTV.

Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera said that the third skier was able to dig himself out of the avalanche and was taken to hospital.

She said she believed he was the one that was able to call officials to begin the rescue.

The names of the two who died was not released, but they are identified as two men, ages 23 and 32.

One was a local and another was visiting from another state, officials say.

UAV forecaster Craig Gordon said several feet of heavy, wet snow fell in the mountainous region over the past three days.

He said the accident happened in "very serious terrain", adding that the group must have been very experienced to attempt to ski there.

According to the UAC, no other avalanche-related deaths have happened this late in the spring season.