Eight Snowmobilers Missing in Canadian Avalanches
December 29, 2008
Courtesy of CNN
Eight snowmobilers remained unaccounted for Monday after two avalanches in western Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said.
Three others survived the incident, which occurred Sunday afternoon south of the town of Fernie in the southeastern part of British Columbia. The three men suffered minor injuries, and one of them was hospitalized overnight.
"A search party will be going out as soon as daylight hits to look for the remaining eight missing, but it certainly doesn't look good," said David Wilks, mayor of Sparwood, the small town just north of Fernie where the snowmobilers reside.
"There's 11 people involved, eight of those who are in dire straits this morning. We're hoping for the best, but reality tells us if your stuck in the snow for about 24 hours, bad things can happen."
The 11 had been in Harvey Pass, a popular backcountry snowmobile destination.
An avalanche buried part of the group, and as others came to assist them, a second avalanche buried them, police and Wilks said.
"Two of the buried riders managed to self-rescue within about 20 minutes. These two used their avalanche beacons to locate a third buried victim who they rescued after an additional 20 minutes of digging," police said.
There have been previous coal mine disasters in the region, Wilks said. "But in recent memory this is the largest single tragic event to hit this community," he said.
Wilks said the snowmobilers are men in their mid- to late 20s and described them as upstanding citizens, most of them working in coal mines or as businessmen.
"All were well-aware of the dangers involved in snowmobiling. All are very cautious with what was going on," Wilks said.
A command post was set up Sunday, but darkness and avalanche hazards prompted authorities to postpone the search until Monday morning.
The Canadian Avalanche Center is classifying the avalanche hazard in the region as "high," police said, and crews were trying to establish "slope stability" at the site in time for searching to resume.
The mayor said temperatures as low as minus 30 degrees in recent weeks had warmed up in the last two or three days to 25 degrees.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police, avalanche technicians and local emergency crews were to undertake the search and will be using avalanche-trained police dogs.