Five snowmobilers killed in B.C. avalanche

Saturday, January 30, 2016, 6:46 PM - An avalanche in northeastern British Columbia killed five snowmobilers Friday afternoon.

The incident occurred around 1:30 p.m. PST east of McBride, about 210 km southeast of Prince George. RCMP officials confirmed Saturday that all five were from Alberta, ranging in age from 41 to 55, according to the Canadian Press.

RCMP were notified of two separate GPS beacon activations in the Renshaw area and quickly activated the Robson Valley Search and Rescue Team. A helicopter was also dispatched to assist.

Four separate groups of snowmobilers were caught in the slide, involving 17 people. One non-life threatening injury was reported, and 11 people were airlifted from the site.

"We are a small and mostly tight-knit community," McBride Counc. Sharon Reichert told CBC. "We live in a rugged country where many in the community enjoy the outdoors. That comes with danger, and today, our worst fears have been realized."

Avalanche Canada said it had received a report of "what appears to be a very large, significant event" near McBride.

"There are layers of concern in the snowpack in many parts of this region (and others) and a fairly significant weather event added rain and snow to the snowpack over the last few days," Karl Klassen with Avalanche Canada said in a statement.

"This may have produced stresses in the snowpack capable of producing large avalanches and this condition could take several days to settle and bond."

Klassen said the slide appeared to be human-triggered.

With files from Daniel Martins.

SOURCE: CBC | RCMP | Avalanche Canada

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