Avalanche kills man, woman heli-skiing in B.C.
Last Updated: Tuesday, April 3, 2007 | 9:22 AM PT
CBC News
Two people are dead and three others were injured after being hit by an avalanche while backcountry skiing in the northwest corner of B.C. on Monday.
Four heli-skiers and a guide had been dropped off on a mountain near the small town of Stewart before the avalanche.
Mike Watling, spokesman for Last Frontier Heliskiing, said counsellors have been brought in to help staff and guests at the company's lodge.
(CBC)
The three survivors were airlifted to a nearby medical centre, and then to the hospital in Prince Rupert.
One of the survivors has been airlifted to Vancouver General Hospital where she is undergoing surgery for a broken leg on Tuesday. A second survivor was discharged earlier from hospital in Prince Rupert.
Meanwhile, officials are trying to recover the bodies of the two people who died at the remote mountain area, where the avalanche danger has been labelled "considerable" by the Canadian Avalanche Centre.
One of those killed is a Canadian woman and the other a man of Japanese ancestry. Their names are being withheld.
The area is popular with backcountry skiers from across Canada and around the world.
The RCMP have begun an investigation, but say they're being hampered by the remote location of the avalanche.
The company involved in the tragedy, Last Frontier Heliskiing, based in Vernon, B.C., has been operating in the Stewart area for about 12 years.
'We are deeply saddened'
Spokesman Mike Watling said the skiers had been dropped off by one of the company's helicopters early Monday, a day when avalanche conditions were rated moderate to low.
Last Frontier plays host to about 400 skiers a year, most of them from Europe. Watling said this is the first time the company has lost any of its skiers.
"We are deeply saddened by this incident and our thoughts go out to all those involved," he said.
He also said a team of crisis counsellors has been called to the lodge to help employees and guests deal with the deaths.
Meanwhile, search-and-rescue crews are out assessing the danger of further avalanches in the region.
