Eight people are confirmed dead with one more skier still missing in the horrific avalanche that happened just outside of Lake Tahoe.
Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon provided the grim update Wednesday, 24 hours after the avalanche was first reported.
Moon stated four travel guides and 11 guests were caught in the avalanche. Among those 15, 6 had been rescued — one man and five women from ages 30-55. Moon said eight of the remaining nine are confirmed dead and one is still missing.
The tour group initially contained 12 clients and four guides, but one client decided to back out of the trip at the last minute, Moon said.
An avalanche on Tuesday trapped 15 skiers that were part of a three-day expedition led by Blackbird Mountain Guides. Rescuers were able to save six of the people after they set off emergency beacons.
The six hid under tarps as they awaited rescue late on Tuesday, but are now off the mountain. Two of the skiers needed to be hospitalized.
Rescuers searching for the other ninemissing skiershave been hamstrung in their search efforts Wednesday morning after the area was slammed with nearly 2 feet of snow.
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There were no signs of rescue activity at Boreal/Castle Peak trailhead where the avalanche struck Tuesday around 11:30 a.m. The night before, mountain rescuers had launched a huge operation to find them on skis and snowcats, but had beenstruggling against horrific conditionsthat saw the entire region cut off.
Soda Springs, located near the avalanche site, got hit by nearly 2 feet of snow over the past 24 hours, weatherdatasaid. The roads in nearby Truckee are “virtually empty”, The New York Times reported.
Source: California Post – Breaking California News, Photos & Videos
