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Avalanche in western Canada kills 5 snowmobilers

Xinhua, January 30, 2016 Adjust font size:

Five snowmobilers were killed Friday afternoon when a large avalanche hit a snowmobiling area in western Canada, authorities said.

The disaster happened about 20 km from McBride City in the northeast part of British Columbia Province where at least three groups of people were snowmobiling.

Local police said they launched a search and rescue operation immediately after they were notified of GPS (Global Positioning System) beacon activations in the Renshaw area east of McBride around 1:30 p.m. local time (2130 GMT). A helicopter was deployed.

Six to eight people lost their snowmobiles and had to be shuttled off the mountain. One person was transported to hospital by Emergency Health Services in stable condition.

Avalanche Canada, a local non-government and non-profit organization dedicated to public avalanche safety, said it had received a report of what appears to be a "very large, significant avalanche event" in the North Rockies.

It urged people to be careful when venturing out into the North Rockies this weekend.

Snowmobiling is a popular winter activity in British Columbia's mountains. Endit