A treacherous avalanche has buried three skiers near Anchorage, Alaska today.
"Based on the information provided by the operator, unfortunately, we do not believe that any of the three missing persons survived the avalanche," said Austin McDaniel, a spokesperson for the Alaska State Troopers.
State troopers said the depth of snow could be up to 100 feet, and compared the height of the massive snow dump to a 10-story building.
From ABC News:
The slide happened late Tuesday afternoon near the skiing community of Girdwood, located about 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of Anchorage, said McDaniel.
Guides from the heli-skiing company attempted to locate the skiers. Using avalanche beacons, the guides identified a probable area where the skiers were buried, at a depth of 40 feet (12 meters) to 100 feet (30 meters), McDaniel said in a later email.
"The guides were unable to recover the three skiers due to the depth. Due to considerable avalanche risk in this area and limited daylight, no further recovery operations were conducted on March 4," he said. "If weather and conditions allow for it, Troopers plan to assess avalanche conditions from the air and determine recovery options with individuals that have experience making avalanche recoveries."
"If the deaths are confirmed," reports ABC, "it would be the deadliest U.S. avalanche since three climbers were killed in a slide in Washington's Cascade Mountains two years ago."
Previously: K2 climber catches awesome footage of an avalanche headed straight for his tent (video)
