Police on Sunday confirmed that two men had been killed by Saturday's avalanche that occurred on the Boulder Mountain in the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

The confirmation was made by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police at a news conference.

Police captain Dan Moskaluk said that two men had been confirmed dead, not three as reported earlier in the chaotic hours after the slide that occurred Saturday afternoon, allegedly caused by some daredevil sledders who had unleashed a wall of snow on to some 200 people further down the slope.

The police captain said that some 30 people had been injured by the avalanche, including one in critical condition and three others in serious conditions.

The people gathered on the Boulder Mountain for an unsanctioned annual event known as the Big Iron Shoot Out, the police officer added.

Eyewitnesses said that the avalanche had hit so many people who had gathered and stopped at the foot of the mountain.

Police data showed there had been a few avalanche deaths this winter in British Columbia where there were 13 avalanche deaths in the previous season.

The Canadian Avalanche Center said that the area where Saturday's avalanche struck had been hit by 10 avalanches since Friday last week for the center to issue an extreme avalanche warning.