At least 2 dead after avalanche
Source: Agencies |
March 15, 2010, Monday
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Print Edition
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An avalanche has struck a rally of up to 200 snowmobilers in Canada's Rocky Mountains, killing at least two people and leaving an unknown number missing.
Rescuers scoured remote Boulder Mountain until after darkness fell on Saturday night. The search was called off until daybreak yesterday.
Police conducted a door-to-door search of hotel rooms yesterday to try and determine how many are missing.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said 30 people were injured in the slide but up to 200 people were on the mountain at the time for the Big Iron Shoot Out, an annual informal snowmobile rally.
Four of the injured were transferred to larger hospitals due to the severity of their conditions, Cathy Renkes of Interior Health said.
Warning in effect
"Search and Rescue and the RCMP were out on site. They've got most of the people off that they know of now," Revelstoke Mayor David Raven said. "The hospital's been very, very busy.
"It's an unsanctioned, unorganized event. ... the RCMP are trying now to determine who was up there and how many and figure out who may be missing."
Raven said the Canadian Avalanche Center in Revelstoke had a warning in effect for the past three weeks urging extreme caution in the back country.
"A fresh snowfall overnight exacerbated that warning. I know people have been cautioned again and again," Raven told CTV Newsnet.
The slide struck about 3:30pm local time on Saturday, and search and rescue teams were called in from around British Columbia and from Calgary.
The RCMP said it did not yet have details about the three dead or the extent of the injuries. Nor did they know how many might be missing in the slide near Revelstoke, about 300 kilometers west of Calgary and about 400km northeast of Vancouver.
Children involved
Kathy Berlingette, owner of Smokey Bear Campground Resort in the area, said the event was in a remote place.
She said the slide occurred in a place called Turbo Bowl, at the foot of Boulder Mountain, and a group of people, including parents with children, had gathered to watch the snowmobiles go up the hill when the avalanche hit.
"One fellow that I was talking to said that it resembled a war zone," Berlingette said.
The Canadian Avalanche Center issued an avalanche warning for the region, which includes Revelstoke, for Saturday and yesterday, after a powerful storm blanketed the region with snow.
Adam Burke, 20, a member of the Revelstoke Snowmobile Club, said his mother and many friends were up on the mountain when the avalanche struck. His mother was safe, but he knew at least one family friend who was missing.
Burke said he chose not to go to the rally because of the dangerous conditions in the mountains.
"I told everyone to shut the mountain down. I told my mom ... don't have anything to do with this event."
Rescuers scoured remote Boulder Mountain until after darkness fell on Saturday night. The search was called off until daybreak yesterday.
Police conducted a door-to-door search of hotel rooms yesterday to try and determine how many are missing.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said 30 people were injured in the slide but up to 200 people were on the mountain at the time for the Big Iron Shoot Out, an annual informal snowmobile rally.
Four of the injured were transferred to larger hospitals due to the severity of their conditions, Cathy Renkes of Interior Health said.
Warning in effect
"Search and Rescue and the RCMP were out on site. They've got most of the people off that they know of now," Revelstoke Mayor David Raven said. "The hospital's been very, very busy.
"It's an unsanctioned, unorganized event. ... the RCMP are trying now to determine who was up there and how many and figure out who may be missing."
Raven said the Canadian Avalanche Center in Revelstoke had a warning in effect for the past three weeks urging extreme caution in the back country.
"A fresh snowfall overnight exacerbated that warning. I know people have been cautioned again and again," Raven told CTV Newsnet.
The slide struck about 3:30pm local time on Saturday, and search and rescue teams were called in from around British Columbia and from Calgary.
The RCMP said it did not yet have details about the three dead or the extent of the injuries. Nor did they know how many might be missing in the slide near Revelstoke, about 300 kilometers west of Calgary and about 400km northeast of Vancouver.
Children involved
Kathy Berlingette, owner of Smokey Bear Campground Resort in the area, said the event was in a remote place.
She said the slide occurred in a place called Turbo Bowl, at the foot of Boulder Mountain, and a group of people, including parents with children, had gathered to watch the snowmobiles go up the hill when the avalanche hit.
"One fellow that I was talking to said that it resembled a war zone," Berlingette said.
The Canadian Avalanche Center issued an avalanche warning for the region, which includes Revelstoke, for Saturday and yesterday, after a powerful storm blanketed the region with snow.
Adam Burke, 20, a member of the Revelstoke Snowmobile Club, said his mother and many friends were up on the mountain when the avalanche struck. His mother was safe, but he knew at least one family friend who was missing.
Burke said he chose not to go to the rally because of the dangerous conditions in the mountains.
"I told everyone to shut the mountain down. I told my mom ... don't have anything to do with this event."
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