Six skiers have been found alive and nine others remain missing after an avalanche in northern California where a search and rescue operation is currently ongoing
Six skiers have been discovered alive, whilst nine others remain unaccounted for following an avalanche in northern California. Two of the survivors were transported to hospital for treatment, according to Ashley Quadros, a spokesperson for the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office.
Search and rescue teams were dispatched to Frog Lake in the Castle Peak area, north-west of Lake Tahoe, after police received reports of an avalanche with people trapped beneath. The incident occurred as a potent winter storm swept across California.
Severe conditions in the northern California mountains hampered the rescue operation. It took several hours for crews to reach the skiers and escort them to safety, where they were assessed by the Truckee Fire Department.
The sheriff’s office has announced it will provide another update on the rescue efforts during a press conference on Wednesday morning.
The skiers were on the final day of a three-day skiing expedition, explained Steve Reynaud, a Tahoe National Forest avalanche forecaster with the Sierra Avalanche Centre, who had been in contact with individuals on the ground in the area. He stated that the skiers had spent two nights at huts on a journey that required navigating “rugged mountainous terrain” for up to four miles, carrying all their food and supplies.
Nevada County Sheriff Captain Russell Greene revealed that officials were alerted to the avalanche by the ski tour firm that organised the expedition, Blackbird Mountain Guides, and through emergency beacons carried by the skiers. Rescue teams proceeded carefully to the avalanche site due to the risk of further slides.
Blackbird Mountain Guides confirmed in a statement on its website that it was working alongside authorities on the rescue mission.
The news comes after we reported how a British man has lost his life in an avalanche in the French Alps. He had been skiing with a group of four others when the avalanche hit near the resort town of La Grave on Tuesday morning, local media reported.
Mountain rescue teams rushed to the scene but the Briton and a Polish citizen were declared dead, according to the BBC. It follows just days after two British men were amongst three fatalities in an avalanche at the Val d’Isère ski resort on Friday morning.
Local authorities have launched investigations to establish the cause of death in both avalanches, the BBC reported.
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