The bodies of the nine skiers what They lost their lives after an avalanche happened last Tuesday in northern California They were recovered this Saturday, after weather conditions allowed the search teams to enter, Nevada County authorities reported.
Eight victims had been located since Wednesday; However, one person was still missing until this Saturday, rescuers found his body and took him down from the mountain.
The group was made up of 15 peopleincluding four guides, who were buried when a mass of snow, equivalent to the size of a football field, fell from the slope.
Among the deceased are six women – close friends and experienced in skiing – and three professional guides. Six other people managed to survive the three-day journeyin what became the deadliest avalanche in the United States since 1981.
Bad weather and the threat of more avalanches prevented teams from safely recovering the bodies in the following days.
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Authorities in Nevada County, where the accident occurred, revealed the names of the deceased. Their ages are between 30 and 52 years old.
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health opened an investigation to determine whether the company in charge of organizing the expedition, Blackbird Mountain Guides, violated the rules.
The Nevada County Sheriff’s Department is also investigating why the skiers continued with the journey that took them back if there was a winter storm warning that left up to 2 meters of snow and hit the mountains with winds of 96 kilometers per hour.
On Sunday, the Sierra Avalanche Center issued an alert indicating that “very dangerous avalanche conditions could occur in the rural area” in a region that includes the Lake Tahoe metropolitan area.
YC
