Four skiers are dead following an avalanche Saturday at Utah’s Salt Lake Valley, police said.
The avalanche happened in a backcountry region of Millcreek Canyon. Eight skiers were in the area of Wilson Basin, which is not connected with any ski resorts, if they triggered the avalanche, Sgt. Melody Cutler of Millcreek’s Unified Police Department said.
A few skiers could dig themselves along with the deceased skiers out, Cutler said.
Rescue crews were notified of the avalanche at 11:40 a.m. local time. The four survivors had minor injuries and were rescued through clouds. Rescue teams were working to bring the deceased off the mountain, Cutler said.
The ages of the skiers vary from early 20s to late 30s, Cutler said.
The accident happened amid warnings of high avalanche danger for the region.
At 7 a.m. local time Saturday, the Forest Service Utah Avalanche Center issued a backcountry avalanche warning for the mountains of northern Utah. It stays in effect through 6 a.m. Sunday.
Cutler stressed that it’s important to pay attention to those warnings.
“There’s been advisories out recently about the very high avalanche danger that exists with the present conditions,” Cutler told Salt Lake City ABC affiliate KTVX. “This is a really unfortunate circumstance with those conditions.”
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox responded to news of the deadly avalanche on Twitter.
“That is a terrible tragedy and our prayers go out to the victims and families involved,” he said. “We’re thankful to the first responders and others who participated in this rescue and recovery effort. With avalanche risk high right now, please exercise extreme caution”
The Salt Lake County Sheriff’s Canyon Research and Rescue Unit, Unified Police Department, Unified Fire Authority and many others were involved in the reply, Mayor Jenny Wilson stated.
“We’re heartbroken over the tragic news of four deaths because the result of an avalanche in the Millcreek Canyon area this afternoon,” Wilson tweeted. “We deeply mourn the loss of life due to this catastrophic incident”
That is Utah’s third deadly avalanche this season, according to the Utah Avalanche Center.
Two people died last month in separate avalanches from the Salt Lake area.
Three months earlier, a 31-year-old snowboarder was buried after descending a slope with another skier in the back of the Canyons Village area on Jan. 8.
All three avalanches were unintentionally triggered.
