US media reported that at least eight others were missing in the incident, which took place near Stevens Pass in the Cascade Mountains northeast of Seattle.
“There are initial reports of an avalanche with 3 fatalities in the Tunnel Creek drainage near Stevens Pass Sunday afternoon but details are not yet available,” the Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center said on its website.
King County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Sergeant Cindi West said on Twitter that “at least two” were dead at Stevens Pass, adding: “People missing.”
Two search and rescue missions had headed to the site, she said.
Washington State Patrol trooper Keith Leary told AFP the area was “pretty remote,” and that there was no cell phone reception.
The Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center on Sunday had issued a warning about “high avalanche danger” above 5,000 feet (1,500 meters), and a “considerable” danger below that elevation.
It was not immediately clear the elevation at which the avalanche occurred.
© Copyright AFP Agence France-Presse GmbH – All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or distributed. All reproduction or redistribution is expressly forbidden without the prior written agreement of AFP.
