Three men are feared dead after being hit by a massive avalanche while on a backcountry heli-skiing trip in the US state of Alaska, say officials.
Officials believe the party is buried in up to 100ft (30m) of snow, but no bodies have yet been recovered after Tuesday afternoon’s incident in the Chugach mountains about 40 miles (65km) east of Anchorage.
The skiers, who have not yet been identified, were flown in by helicopter as part of a commercially guided trip, according to Alaska State Troopers. A fourth person in the group reportedly escaped the disaster.
If the deaths are confirmed, this would be the deadliest US avalanche since three climbers died in Washington state’s Cascade mountains in 2023.
“We are sorry to report an avalanche resulting in multiple fatalities in the west fork of the Twentymile River yesterday afternoon,” the Chugach National Forest Avalanche Information Center said on Wednesday.
“Details on this accident are still emerging, and we will share more information as it becomes available. Our sincere condolences go out to the friends and families of those involved.”
Alaska State Troopers said the skiers had all come from other states to the mountain near Girdwood, close to Alaska’s largest resort, Alyeska.
A spokeswoman for Chugach Powder Guides, which took the men on the excursion, told the Anchorage Daily News that witnesses had seen all three deploy their avalanche airbags, devices that inflate to help skiers stay on the surface of a snowslide.
The avalanche is estimated to have been about half a mile long, sliding about 2,000ft down the peak.
Using beacons, which transmit a radio signal to rescuers in the event of an avalanche burial, guides were able to locate “a probable area where skiers were buried between 40ft and nearly 100ft deep”.
“The guides were unable to recover the three skiers due to the depth,” the statement says.
The rescue was called off due to limited daylight and because storms were expected to bring more snow and wind, heightening the risk of another avalanche.
Each winter, between 25 and 30 people die in avalanches in the US, says the National Avalanche Center.
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