OTTAWA: Three skiers were killed and a fourth was critically injured when they were swept away in an avalanche in Canada’s westernmost province of British Columbia, police said Tuesday.
The four men had just finished skiing in an alpine area on the east side of Kootenay Lake, 700 kilometers (435 miles) east of Vancouver, in the early afternoon Monday and were waiting in a staging area below the tree line with another group when tragedy struck.
“A transport helicopter was nearing the group when the pilot observed an avalanche and sounded the siren,” the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said in a statement.
One group managed to race out of harm’s way, but the other was swept away in a wall of snow.
Three of the men — a 45-year-old man from the US state of Idaho, a 44-year-old from Whistler, British Columbia, and their 53-year-old guide from the nearby town of Kaslo — were later found dead by emergency responders.
The fourth man, 40, from Nelson, British Columbia, was critically injured.
Authorities this week warned of a high risk of avalanches in the area caused by rising spring temperatures.
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Three skiers killed, fourth critically injured in Canada avalanche
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Three skiers killed, fourth critically injured in Canada avalanche
- The four men had just finished skiing in an alpine area on the east side of Kootenay Lake
- One group managed to race out of harm’s way
Memorial for Swiss bar fire victims goes up in flames: police
CRANS MONTANA: A memorial for the victims of the deadly New Year’s fire in Switzerland itself caught fire early Sunday, police said, adding they were investigating what sparked the blaze.
The fire that erupted at the Le Constellation bar in the ski resort town of Crans-Montana in the early hours of January 1 killed 41 people and injured 115, mainly teenagers and young adults.
A makeshift memorial, laden with flowers, candles and messages of condolence set up near the site of the tragedy, caught alight around 6:00 am (0500 GMT) on Sunday, regional police said in a statement.
“Firefighters were able to quickly bring the fire under control,” Wallis police said on X.
They said an investigation had been opened into what caused the blaze at the memorial, which long sat right in front of the burned-out bar, but had recently been moved a bit further away.
Images broadcast by Swiss public broadcaster RTS on Sunday showed the blackened top of white, igloo-like tarpaulin erected over the memorial to protect it from the weather visible behind a white screen and police tape.
The fire that erupted at the Le Constellation bar in the ski resort town of Crans-Montana in the early hours of January 1 killed 41 people and injured 115, mainly teenagers and young adults.
A makeshift memorial, laden with flowers, candles and messages of condolence set up near the site of the tragedy, caught alight around 6:00 am (0500 GMT) on Sunday, regional police said in a statement.
“Firefighters were able to quickly bring the fire under control,” Wallis police said on X.
They said an investigation had been opened into what caused the blaze at the memorial, which long sat right in front of the burned-out bar, but had recently been moved a bit further away.
Images broadcast by Swiss public broadcaster RTS on Sunday showed the blackened top of white, igloo-like tarpaulin erected over the memorial to protect it from the weather visible behind a white screen and police tape.
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