Four people were hospitalized — two in critical condition — after two separate avalanches Monday afternoon in southeastern BC
Three were injured in an avalanche near Revelstoke, about 125 miles northeast of Kelowna, BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) said. The fourth person was caught in an avalanche near Cherryville further south.
Two of the people in the Revelstoke avalanche are in critical condition, and the other person is in serious condition. The condition of those injured in the Cherryville avalanche is not known.
The avalanches occurred just two days after a man died from an avalanche near Valemount and two weeks after an avalanche near Kaslo killed two Nelson police officers.
Avalanche Canada has warned that snow this season is unusually weak and highly prone to avalanches. A forecaster told TBEN Monday ahead of the two recent avalanches that hazardous conditions are likely to persist for some time in the province, particularly in the interior and northwest of BC.
Tiffany Akins of BCEHS said an ambulance responded to the call at around 2:15 p.m. Monday from Cherryville, about 60 miles northeast of Kelowna.
Atkins said they sent a helicopter, but it failed to land. Instead, the crews collected the patient from the highway in a ground ambulance around 3:30 p.m
Less than 10 minutes after receiving the first call, BCEHS learned of the other avalanche near Revelstoke.
Atkins said those patients were picked up by a private helicopter and met by a ground ambulance at the Kelowna airport.
