8 skiers dead, another missing in 'deadliest' US avalanche since 1981

Crews recovered the bodies of eight backcountry skiers and continued searching for one missing after an avalanche near California's Lake Tahoe, authorities said on Wednesday, calling it the "deadliest" US avalanche in nearly 50 years.

According to Shannan Moon, sheriff of Nevada County, the mission has shifted from rescue to recovery. Six others from the guided three-day trip were rescued on Tuesday in the Sierra Nevada mountains during a powerful winter storm.

All the skiers carried emergency beacons, though it was unclear whether they had avalanche air bags. The six survivors sheltered in place in below-freezing temperatures and located three of the deceased. Rescuers reached them by snowcat to within 2 miles, then skied in to avoid triggering another slide. One survivor remained hospitalized Wednesday, Moon added.

'It overtook them rather quickly'

“Someone saw the avalanche, yelled avalanche, and it overtook them rather quickly,” said Capt. Russell Greene of the sheriff’s office. The eight victims were found close together; three were guides. Their bodies have not yet been removed due to dangerous conditions.

The avalanche is the deadliest in the US since 1981, when 11 climbers died on Mount Rainier in Washington. An average of 25 to 30 people die in America in avalanches each winter, according to the National Avalanche Center.

(With AP inputs)