B.C. avalanche death toll revised to 2 Search continues near Revelstoke

Last Updated: Sunday, March 14, 2010 | 11:23 AM PT Comments149 Recommend90

CBC News

RCMP now say at least two men were killed and 30 other people were hurt after an avalanche near Revelstoke, B.C., on Saturday, while several people remain missing.

"As of 7 a.m. this morning, RCMP have re-examined reported information," Cpl. Dan Moskaluk told reporters Sunday, a day after the tragedy on Boulder Mountain. According to initial reports, three people had been killed.

Moskaluk said several people were still missing, but it's unclear how many. RCMP were checking with guests of a nearby hotel to try to determine who exactly was still unaccounted for, he said.

As many as 200 people were taking part in a snowmobiling event called the Big Iron Shootout when a wall of snow came crashing down on Saturday afternoon.

Moskaluk said 19 of the injured have been released from hospital. Three people are in serious condition and one in critical condition. The four patients are at hospitals in Kamloops, Vernon, Kelowna and Calgary.

Meanwhile, the aerial search of the avalanche zone continued for a second day.

Officials said Sunday morning that avalanches were still being triggered in the area. The ground search involving 40 to 50 people with four search-and-rescue teams was to begin once the area was deemed safe.

RCMP direct traffic at the staging area for avalanche search-and-rescue operations near Revelstoke on Saturday. (David Rooney/Revelstoke Current/Canadian Press)

Kathy Berlingette, owner of Smokey Bear Campground Resort in the area, said the event was in a remote place and everyone involved had to use snowmobiles to get there.

She said the avalanche struck in an area known as Turbo Bowl. Officials estimate it was seven to nine metres deep and 150 metres wide.

Hundreds of people from B.C., Alberta and Washington state were watching the snowmobiling event when the avalanche hit around 3:30 p.m. local time.

The mountain was shut down as search-and-rescue helicopters and avalanche dogs worked to recover the injured.

"I know that the RCMP are up there with a number of their members doing searches and that they've got dog units … and the local search-and-rescue group," Revelstoke Mayor David Raven said shortly after the avalanche hit.

"We also have the ski patrol from Revelstoke Mountain Resorts available and going up."

Rescuers were still scouring the mountain after darkness fell Saturday night. The search was then called off until daybreak Sunday.

Searchers and dogs are running grid patterns, poking into deep snow with probes.

Some of the injuries were caused by the force of cascading snow or from snowmobiles colliding, survivors told CBC News.

One man said the snowmobile he was riding was carried about 30 metres down the hill. When he finally came to a stop, he had slammed into another snowmobile.

He described the helplessness survivors felt that some didn't make it out alive.

"I was at Tim Hortons for breakfast [Saturday] morning and talked to four guys, including one who didn't survive," he said. "We couldn't help him out."

Raven said the Canadian Avalanche Centre started warning people three weeks ago to use "extreme caution" in the region. A fresh snowfall Friday made the avalanche risk that much higher, he added.

Officials say the avalanche is one of the largest they have ever seen.

Adam Burke, a member of the Revelstoke Snowmobile Club, said he didn't take part in the Big Iron Shootout because the avalanche potential was too much for his liking.

According to the avalanche centre, there have been 10 avalanches in the area since Friday, when the CAC issued an extreme warning for the area. It advised people to stay away from any defined avalanche terrain and steep slopes.

On Feb. 15, an Alberta man was killed in an avalanche while snowmobiling on Eagle Mountain near Revelstoke. Another Alberta man died in an avalanche while skiing near Rossland, B.C., in early January.

Revelstoke is about 300 kilometres west of Calgary, and about 400 kilometres northeast of Vancouver.

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