Three people dead following avalanche in Panorama

RCMP are reporting that three people are dead following an avalanche triggered in the area of Panorama.

Emergency crews responded at 12:40 pm Wednesday afternoon following reports of a slide occurring around 12:00 pm.

In total, ten people were caught in the avalanche, with three people reported dead and four injured.

RCMP say some of the injuries are considered serious, but the injured parties are believed to survive.

BC Emergency Health Services took care of all parties involved, who were then flown to Invermere Hospital.

A full release from BC RCMP can be found below.

On March 1^st, 2023, at 12:40 p.m., Columbia Valley RCMP Detachment was notified of an avalanche that occurred at approximately 12:00 noon. The report was of an avalanche having been triggered in the area of Panorama, BC.

Initial report was that multiple people, who had been heli-skiing in the area, were caught up by the avalanche.

Rescue efforts began initially with Search and Rescue, and Parks Canada, however were stood down prior to their arrival, as all the buried skiers were accounted for.

In total, there were ten people caught up in the avalanche. In total, three of the skiers are deceased, four were injured, some of which are in serious condition, but believed to survive. One of the seriously injured was the guide.

BC Emergency Health Services were able to take care of all deceased and injured parties, who were then flown to the Invermere Hospital.

All of the skiers who foreign Nationals who haven’t been identified until next-of-kin’s can be completed.

The Regional District of East Kootenay has released the following statement regarding Wednesday’s fatal avalanche via Area F director Susan Clovechok:

As details emerge of a fatal avalanche yesterday afternoon in a Heli Ski tenure outside of Panorama, the impacts are being felt across the entire Columbia Valley.

“My thoughts and prayers are with everyone who has been impacted, and with everyone who was involved in the emergency response” says RDEK Electoral Area F Director Susan Clovechok. “I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to all the individuals, volunteers, organizations, emergency responders, and health care teams who responded yesterday. We are so fortunate to have so many amazing and skilled people in our valley who, in the face of tragedy, work together seamlessly.”

RCMP have confirmed 10 heli-skiers were caught up in the avalanche. Three skiers were killed. Four others were injured, including the guide. All of the skiers were foreign nationals and their identities are not being released until next-of-kin can be notified.

“This is a small valley and we all care deeply for one another.  There are no words that adequately can convey our sorrow for the lives lost and all of the lives affected by this tragedy,” adds Clovechok.  

The avalanche was triggered at approximately Noon yesterday, March 1, 2023. 

RK Heliski has also released a statement with regards to the avalanche near Panorama, you can read it below:

The guests and the guides who ski with us each season are part of our family. We are heartbroken about the accident that happened yesterday near Invermere, B.C. It is impossible to put into words the sorrow that we feel and the sadness that is shared by our guests, their families and all of our staff. Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone involved, their loved ones and the community. 

We are grateful to all the outside agencies and our team who jumped into action when the avalanche was reported shortly after noon yesterday. We would like to thank the professional Ski Patrollers from Panorama Mountain Resort, CMH Bugaboos for their dedicated team of professional ACMG guides and supporting aircrafts from Coldstream Helicopters, Silver King Helicopters, Glacier Helicopters and CMH Helicopters.

We have asked our industry association, HeliCat Canada, to activate the Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) Team of Peer Responders to support our team. 

Officials have confirmed three fatalities and four with non life-threatening injuries. We defer to the RCMP on the details of the incident and updated status of those impacted.

We have served 160,000 clients with over 800,000 guided runs since 1970, our top priority has been the safety of our guests and staff. We remain committed to best-in-class safety processes and protocols. During this difficult time, our thoughts and prayers are with everyone involved and their loved ones.

Columbia River-Revelstoke MLA Doug Clovechok also discussed Wednesday’s tragedy in Legislature Thursday, view a video of his speech below:

– Article includes statements from Columbia Valley RCMP, Regional District of East Kootenay, RK Heliski and Columbia River-Revelstoke MLA Doug Clovechok