Avalanche Near Smithers Kills One

By 250 News

Prince George, B.C. -  RCMP say a Smithers man has been killed in an avalanche that occurred in a popular snowmobiling area near that community yesterday.

Police say the snowslide occurred at approximately 2pm yesterday in the "Microwave Tower" snowmobiling area, southwest of Telkwa, in a spot referred to as the 'Sunpit'.

RCMP say one person was buried and died at the scene, but the local man's identity is being withheld until next of kin have been notified.

Members of Bulkley Valley Search and Rescue made their way to the site. BVSAR President, Barry Finnegan, says there were several snowmobilers in the area, but, fortunately, the wind-loaded slope gave way in a relatively contained area and only two people were involved.

Finnegan says it appears one of the snowmobilers had been riding high up on the slope and was not caught up in the slide, but the other - a Smithers man believed to be in his 20s - had been sitting stationary on his machine taking pictures when he was engulfed.

Finnegan says the victim's friend attempted a companion rescue immediately.  "And, by all accounts, he did an excellent job - he found his friend very quickly and dug him out very quickly."

However, Finnegan, says, as can be the case in these tragedies, there were other factors that contributed to his death. 

The Search and Rescue crew was unable to recover the man's body due to instability in the area.  The team was hoping to go back in today, but a severe snowstorm means recovery efforts have been put on-hold until tomorrow.  "As soon as we have enough visibility, we'll go back in, stabilize the slope and complete the rescue," says Finnegan.

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