1 person dead, another missing after 2 avalanches hit B.C.

One person is presumed dead and another is missing after two groups of snowmobilers were hit by avalanches in separate areas of British Columbia on Sunday.

A group of 14 snowmobilers were caught in a snowslide shortly after 2 p.m. PT in a remote, mountainous area just south of Chetwynd, which is northeast of Prince George, RCMP in Chetwynd said.

One person from the group is believed to have died, Const. Craig Douglass said in a release. All the other snowmobilers in the group have been accounted for, he said.

No attempts to retrieve the body will be made until an avalanche technician determines the area is safe, police said. The individual's name won't be released until family members were notified.

Earlier Sunday, a separate avalanche struck three snowmobilers on Mara Mountain near Enderby in the province's Interior, where one man remained missing, Vernon RCMP said. Enderby is about 450 kilometres northeast of Vancouver.

Search-and-rescue teams were at the scene on Sunday but called off their operation as night fell, Vernon RCMP spokesman Gordon Molendyk said.

Two avalanche technicians and a search manager have been sent to the area and will help rescuers assess whether it's safe to resume the search on Monday morning, he said.

Police have yet to release details about the missing man or the two survivors, but they said an update will be provided late Monday morning.

The latest death brings the total number of people who have died in recent weeks in avalanches in B.C.'s back country to 12, including eight snowmobilers buried in snow late last month near Fernie.