2 skiers dead, 1 rescued from avalanche in Utah

May 9 (UPI) – Search crews rescued one person and two others were found dead after an avalanche hit Utah’s Lone Peak on Thursday.

Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera told the Salt Lake Tribune that two men, ages 23 and 32, died in the avalanche in Little Cottonwood Canyon near the town of Alta.

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The Unified Police Department, Unified Fire Authority, Draper Fire and other agencies conducted a rescue operation early Thursday.

Authorities were searching for three skiers trapped in the avalanche earlier in the day. One of them was rescued after digging himself out of the snow and trying to save his two friends before calling for help.

Footage from KUTV in Salt Lake City showed a rescue helicopter taking the skier off the mountain about two hours after authorities reported the skiers’ disappearance.

The rescued skier was taken to hospital with minor injuries. The bodies of the other two skiers remain on the mountain after rescue work was suspended for a day due to weather conditions.

A spokesman for the Utah Avalanche Center told ABC News that such a dangerous avalanche was atypical for this time of year as warmer weather stabilizes the snowpack, but a recent storm with strong winds and heavy snow created dangerous avalanche conditions.

The last avalanche accident in the region occurred in Brighton on April 17, 2023, according to a Utah Avalanche Center record.