B.C.'s death toll from avalanches this winter rises to 13

Searchers have recovered the body of a man left behind at the site of an avalanche Sunday in a remote mountainous area southwest of Chetwynd, B.C., police said.

The man was part of a group of 14 snowmobilers, five of whom were caught in a slide estimated to be three metres deep and one-third of a kilometre long, North District RCMP said Monday.

All five men were dug out but one of them was already dead, Const. Craig Douglass said in a news release issued Monday evening.

"The remaining snowmobilers were forced to leave the deceased because they feared for their safety," he said.

The attempt to retrieve the body resumed around noon Monday after an avalanche technician assessed the area to be safe for rescuers by flying over the site in an aircraft.

The body was found around 4 p.m. Monday, North District RCMP said.

"The deceased is a 45-year-old male from Rycroft, Alberta. No name will be released at this time," Douglass said.

Another man killed in separate avalanche

A separate avalanche occurred Sunday near the Mara Mountain area near Sicamous, which is on the Trans-Canada Highway between Kamloops and Revelstoke in the southern Interior of B.C.

Matt Simmons, 24, was killed while snowmobiling in the area with two other men when they were caught in a slide. His companions were able to dig themselves out and call for help.

Simmons' body was found late Sunday afternoon after about 30 fellow snowmobilers responded to a call for assistance, said Sgt. Gord Molendyk of the Vernon RCMP.

"It appears that this young man wasn't wearing a beacon … so that they could easily locate him," he said.

Simmons' body was transported to hospital in Salmon Arm on Sunday evening.

With two more people killed on the weekend, the death toll from avalanches in B.C. this winter has risen to 13.

Eight men from Sparwood were killed in a series of avalanches while snowmobiling near Fernie on Dec. 28.

Two men died in separate avalanches while skiing or snowboarding in closed areas of the Whistler-Blackcomb Ski Resort on Dec 31 and Jan 1.

One man, who was caught in an avalanche while helicopter snowboarding on Thursday on Alice Mountain near Terrace, died as a result of his injuries in a Washington State hospital on Saturday.