Three skiers have been killed and four others injured in an avalanche in western Canada's Kootenay Rockies, British Columbia, Canadian authorities have said.
Four others, including a guide, were injured when their party of 10 was caught in the avalanche around noon on Wednesday, local time, in the area of the Panorama Mountain Resort, about 160 kilometres west of Calgary, Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Corporal James Grandy said.
The injured — some of whom are in a serious condition — were flown to a hospital in Invermere and are expected to survive, Corporal Grandy added.
Names and nationalities of the dead and injured have been withheld pending, notifications of next of kin.
One of the seriously injured was the guide, authorities said.
Three remaining skiers in the party have been safely accounted for.
All the skiers were foreign nationals, police said, except the guide.
A spokesperson for the Panorama Mountain Resort told CBC News that the avalanche occurred outside of its boundaries, but that it had closed some of its upper lifts in order to support rescue personnel.
There have now been a dozen avalanche fatalities in British Columbia in 2023, according to CBC News, making it one of the province's worst years on record for avalanche deaths.
In early January, Avalanche Canada warned of high risks of "large, scary avalanches" due to an unstable snow pack.
Two US citizens were killed in an avalanche, while on a skiing trip in British Columbia in January.
ABC/wires
