Two skiers were confirmed dead on Sunday after an avalanche "swept them and five others away in a slide-prone area of Colorado," Reuters reported.

The Sheriff's Office in Lake County, Colorado confirmed the deaths in the avalanche that occurred late Saturday afternoon near Twin Lake, Reuters reported. The event occurred near Independence Pass, at an elevation of about 11,000 feet, roughly 120 miles southwest of Denver.

Susan Matthews, spokeswoman for the Lake County Office of Emergency Management, told Reuters the two skiers were found at the top of the avalanche. 

"The skiers were equipped with avalanche beacons which assisted search and rescue crews in locating them," she said.

Authorities believe the seven skiers triggered the slide, Matthews said.

Two members of the group were buried under the snow, but were uninjured.  The other three skiers were injured.

One of the injured skiers suffered broken ribs and a lacerated kidney, another had a broken ankle and the third was treated and released, Matthews said.

A historic avalanche cycle in the Colorado high country this season was created with the help of heavy snowfall and very strong winds, Reuters reported, citing an advisory from the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.

Six people have died in avalanches in the western United States earlier this month, according to the avalanche center. 

An avalanche killed two people in two slides in Utah; a snowmobiler and a skier were killed in slides in Colorado last week; and two cross-country skiers died in an avalanche in eastern Oregon, Reuters reported.

Including the skiers killed on Saturday, so far, 14 people have been killed by avalanches in the United States this winter.