Crews recover bodies of 9 backcountry skiers days after California avalanche

TRUCKEE, Calif. (AP) — Crews recovered the bodies of 9 backcountry skiers who were killed successful a California avalanche 4 days ago, authorities said Saturday, concluding a harrowing cognition hindered by aggravated snowfall.

A hunt squad reached the bodies of 8 victims and recovered 1 different who had been missing and presumed dormant since Tuesday’s avalanche connected Castle Peak adjacent Lake Tahoe. The ninth idiosyncratic who was missing was recovered “relatively close” to the different victims, but it was intolerable to spot them due to the fact that determination were white-out conditions connected Tuesday erstwhile the others were located.

The betterment efforts had been enactment connected clasp for respective days due to the fact that of dense snowfall and the menace of much avalanches.

Helicopters with the California National Guard and California Highway Patrol recovered the bodies connected Saturday greeting by hoisting them from the upland and bringing them to adjacent snowcats — trucks outfitted for proscription connected the snow.

Officials said connected Friday that they were utilizing h2o to interruption up the snowfall successful the country arsenic avalanche mitigation work, a method that is designed to intentionally merchandise unstable snowpack to trim the hazard erstwhile rescue crews spell in.

The mitigation and hunt efforts person included California Highway Patrol aerial operations, Nevada County Sheriff’s hunt and rescue, Tahoe Nordic hunt and rescue, the inferior institution Pacific Gas & Electric, the Sierra avalanche halfway and others.

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