An avalanche in northwestern B.C. killed one heliskier and left three others injured Tuesday afternoon (April 11).
A group of five was touring around a remote mountain lodge about 150 kilometres north of Stewart when they were caught in the slide, Last Frontier Heliskiing said in a statement. Three of them were injured and one died.
BC Emergency Health Services said it responded with three ambulance crews to the area at 3:37 p.m. and took one person to hospital via air ambulance. It didn’t comment on the condition of any of the other skiers.
Last Frontier Heliskiing said they are working with authorities as the incident is reviewed.
“Our thoughts are with families and friends impacted by this tragedy.”
The B.C. Coroners Service confirmed it is investigating the death.
Tuesday’s fatality brings the total number of avalanche deaths in B.C. this season to 13.
Experts warned near the start of the season that it would be a particularly dangerous one because of weak layers of snow buried beneath heavier ones. They said such conditions hadn’t been seen since 2003, when a record 29 people died in avalanches across Canada.
In an average year, Avalanche Canada says about 10 people are killed nationwide. March is typically the deadliest.
READ ALSO: B.C.’s avalanche conditions highly risky, haven’t been seen in 2 decades
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