A search has been launched for the missing hikers (Picture: Getty)

An avalanche has hit a mountain region in Switzerland and swept away too hikers, police said.

Officers initially said that 10 people were missing, before revising the number down to two.

It is feared the walkers were swept away by the avalanche, which struck in the Swiss canton of Valais, which borders France and Italy, police said.

A helicopter is pictured on the location of an avalanche that swept away two people, at the Fenestral Pass (Picture: EPA)
A sea of clouds is pictured from the Fenestral Pass (Picture: EPA)
A helicopter is pictured leaving from the location where an avalanche swept away two people (Picture: EPA)
A mountain in the Swiss canton of Valais (Picture: REX/Shutterstock)

The avalanche took place at an altitude of 2,500 metres in an area called the Col de Fenestral, the spokesman said.

A search is under way and no further information was immediately available, he added.

According to police, several avalanches have been recorded in the area on Sunday.

Earlier in the day, a person was taken to hospital after they were swept away by an avalanche.