An avalanche at a ski station in the Swiss Alps has buried several people, local police said, with reports suggesting more than 10 people are still trapped.

The avalanche on the Plaine-Morte ski track in Crans-Montana occurred at about 2:15pm (12:15am AEDT) and left “several people buried”, police said in a tweet.

Officers said rescue teams were at the scene.

A local newspaper, Le Nouvelliste, quoted the head of Crans-Montana’s municipal government, Nicolas Feraud, as estimating that “between 10 and 12 people” remained buried under the snow.

There was no official confirmation of any deaths.

“We are shocked and hope for good news about these people,” Mr Feraud was quoted as saying.

The paper also quoted one unidentified witness as saying that four people had been pulled out of the snow but their condition was unclear.

Plaine-Morte, at an altitude of about 3000 metres, is the highest ski track at the Crans-Montana resort.

Crans-Montana’s website had listed the risk of an avalanche at two on scale that runs from one (lowest risk) to five.

The avalanche was unusual in that it affected a designated ski track, while the vast majority of deadly avalanches in the Alpine nation hit people skiing off-piste.

Traffic is higher than normal at ski resorts across Switzerland this week because of midterm school holidays.