What to Know About the Deadly California Avalanche

Rescue crews have found the bodies of eight skiers who were killed in a devastating avalanche in California near Lake Tahoe, authorities said on Wednesday.

A search is ongoing for a ninth skier who remains missing in the wake of the massive snow slide. Authorities said the skier is presumed to be dead. 

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The incident has become the country’s deadliest avalanche in nearly 50 years, according to The Associated Press. The avalanche hit the area on Tuesday morning, when a brutal winter storm was blowing through the state. Fifteen backcountry skiers, including the eight who were found dead and the one who remains missing, had been approaching the end of a three-day guided tour in an area near Castle Peak at the time, and became trapped by the avalanche.

Here’s what to know about the situation.

The survivors

Six skiers who were part of the expedition were rescued on Tuesday night. Rescue crews were able to locate the survivors roughly six hours after the avalanche occurred, Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said during a press conference on Wednesday. 

Two of the survivors were transferred to a hospital to receive medical attention, authorities said during the press conference. Of those two survivors, one is still receiving treatment for injuries that aren’t life-threatening, while the other has been released from the hospital.

The missing skier

Officials are searching for one more member of the guided tour. Moon said on Wednesday that the individual is presumed dead.

Authorities have not released details about the missing skier’s identity. 

Moon said that there were nine women and six men on the guided tour. Of the six survivors, four were men and two were women, between the ages of 30 and 55.

The eight skiers who were found dead

Authorities have not yet released the identities of the victims; Moon said that officials wanted to give the families of victims time.

“They’re still reeling,” Moon said during the press conference on Wednesday. “I could not imagine what they’re going through.”

Officials are not currently able to recover the victims’ bodies because of the brutal weather conditions. According to the Sierra Avalanche Center, the risk of avalanches will continue until Thursday, and more heavy snowfall is forecast to hit the area in the coming days.

Moon said that once rescue crews arrived at the scene safely, she was “immediately thinking of the folks that didn’t make it, and knowing our mission now is to get them home.”

What weather forecasts showed ahead of the avalanche

Forecasters released warnings about the risk of avalanches in the area before the deadly incident on Tuesday, citing both heavy snowfall and blustering winds. 

Moon said that officials would investigate why the skier’s’ trip continued even with the warnings of inclement weather.