Four skiers are dead, and four others were rescued after being trapped by an avalanche Saturday in a popular Utah backcountry skiing area.
CNN reports that The Unified Police Department of Salt Lake City received a hang-up distress call around 11:40 a.m. on Saturday. Shortly after, they received a report of an avalanche in the Wilson Basin area, and five people were trapped, Sgt. Melody Cutler said.
Cutler said two groups of skiers, one group of three and one group of five, started skiing in the same area simultaneously. This accidentally triggered the avalanche.
“Four of those skiers were able to dig their way out,” according to Cutler. “All four of the remaining are deceased.”
The four that survived were able to dig themselves out. According to local outlet Fox 13, one survivor was treated for hypothermia. The skiers ranged in age from early 20s to late 30s, Cutler said.
Cutler told CNN that the location where the avalanche happened is a “very popular backcountry ski area.” The area has “been under very high-risk avalanche conditions recently.”
On Saturday, the Utah Avalanche Center tweeted a warning that there “were dangerous avalanche conditions.”
“We are heartbroken over the tragic news of four fatalities as the result of an avalanche in the Millcreek Canyon area this afternoon,” Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson said in a statement. “We deeply mourn the loss of life due to this devastating incident.”
Avalanches are not uncommon in the area. UAC reports that an avalanche was triggered by a skier one day prior in another basin. In December, there was a small slide that occurred downslope from where Saturday’s tragic slide occurred. Between Friday night and Saturday, the UAC estimates about 30-40 avalanches took place.
Millcreek Canyon has been closed for recreational use until further notice due to the dangerous conditions.
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