Craig Gordon with the Utah Avalanche Centre said the accident happened in “very serious terrain”, adding that the group must have been very experienced to attempt to ski there.

Two skiers were killed and one other rescued on Thursday in an avalanche in the mountains of Utah that occurred after several days of spring snowstorms, authorities said.

Two men aged 23 and 32, whose names have not been released, were confirmed dead by the Utah Avalanche Center (UAC), while a third was winched to safety by helicopter. The centre said the victims’ bodies could not be recovered immediately due to harsh conditions.

A rescue team responded just after 10 a.m. on Thursday to an avalanche reported near Lone Peak in the Wasatch Range, south-east of Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera said.

One of the skiers, who was able to dig himself out of the snow, had been rescued by midday and was taken to the hospital, Rivera said, adding she believed he was the one who was able to call officials to begin the rescue.

Officials visited the accident site in the Little Cottonwood Canyon by helicopter and confirmed the other two men were deceased.

Conditions were not safe enough to allow for a recovery on Thursday, and crews planned to go out Friday morning, weather permitting, Rivera said.

Lone Peak had recently received over 30in (76cm) of snow. UAV forecaster Craig Gordon said several feet of heavy, wet snow fell in the mountainous region over the past three days during storms that also brought very strong winds.

Rivera said officers were speaking with the rescued skier at the hospital to get more information about what happened. The skiers hiked into the area Thursday morning, she said.

Gordon 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.

The deaths bring this winter’s tally of avalanche deaths in the US to at least 15, which is less than the average of about 30 people who are killed by avalanches each year.

The Colorado Avalanche Information Centre, which keeps track of the figure nationally, tallied 13 deaths before authorities announced Thursday’s fatalities. In January, an avalanche swept through a popular Lake Tahoe resort in California, killing one person.

Lone Peak is one of the highest peaks in the Wasatch Range towering over Utah’s capital city. Its steep, rugged terrain makes it a popular destination for advanced backcountry skiers, and experienced climbers can be found scaling its sheer granite walls in the warmer months.