More avalanche fears as search to resume for 8th missing B.C. man

Search teams near Fernie, B.C., are hoping to resume efforts Tuesday morning to find an eighth snowmobiler caught in an avalanche that killed seven of his friends, all from the nearby community of Sparwood.

Monday's search was called off mid-afternoon local time amid renewed fears of more avalanches.

CBC's Susana da Silva says opportunities to search for the last missing man may be limited on Tuesday because of the weather.

"They did receive a lot of snow last night and there's a lot of snow coming down. There's word of another storm coming in and they may only have up to six hours to get this search going," da Silva said.

Experts and search leaders will determine early on Tuesday whether it's safe to continue their efforts.

Some 50 people, including RCMP officers and local volunteers, and two specially trained sniffer dogs have been combing the area where the men were trapped in the avalanches Sunday morning.

Some were caught as they attempted to rescue others inundated by the cascading snow.

Community devastated

Fear of further avalanches led to the search being called off Monday afternoon, RCMP spokesman Cpl. Chris Faulkner told a press conference at 5 p.m. PT Monday.

"A seventh body was recovered at about the time the search was terminated," Faulkner said.

The loss of at least seven well-known local men has devastated the small community of Sparwood, according to town Mayor David Wilks, who knew all of the men.

"These were great guys," Wilks told CBC news on Tuesday morning, "Most of them worked in the coal mines. They were avid outdoorsmen; they loved snowmobiling, they  loved life.

"I have nothing but good things to say about all these guys."

Wilks was one of several hundred people to attend a candlelight vigil held in Sparwood Monday night in memory of the seven men, who were all in their mid- to late 20s and raised in the community about 30 kilometres northeast of Fernie.

He said the emotional ceremony was an attempt to start the healing process for those families who had lost loved ones, and show the community's support for them in a time of tragedy.

"We will do anything, and I mean anything, for them," Wilks said.

Three got out alive

The seven bodies were taken from the backcountry area where the avalanches took place to Fernie for identification by family members, the RCMP said.

Police have not released any names, but some media outlets identified the eight men as Danny Bjarnason, Kurt Kabel, Warren Rothel, Kane Rusnak, Leonard Stier, Michael Stier, Thomas Talarico and Blaine Wilson.

The Canadian Avalanche Centre said the avalanche risk is still high in the area.

The coroner, search and rescue crews and police will jointly decide when to call off the search "depending on weather and snow conditions," he said.

"Fernie did get a huge amount of unexpected snow and of course that tipped the balance in that area," said John Kelly, the centre's operations manager.

Eleven male snowmobilers were trapped in the avalanches on Sunday, but three escaped. According to Pierre Pelletier, publisher of the Fernie Free Press, the avalanches occurred "about 20 kilometres east of Fernie, in the Harvey Creek area." The area is about 300 kilometres southwest of Calgary.

Search crews first located three bodies at about 1 p.m., and then three more bodies a little later, police said. The seventh body was found shortly before Monday's search was called off at 3:30 p.m.

The recovered bodies lay further beneath a hard-packed surface. The deepest was found under 3.5 metres of snow, the others about a metre beneath the surface, said Chris Thomas, president of Fernie Search and Rescue.

They were spread out over about 120 metres, and three were located almost immediately because they were wearing special avalanche transceivers that send out an electronic signal, Thomas said.

"The other four were found by probe strikes — their transceivers were not on or they were, likely, in receive mode as opposed to transmit mode because they were looking for additional people," Thomas said.

Wilks said it appeared the snowmobilers had taken all necessary precautions for travelling in the remote, snowy hills.

"They did nothing wrong here," Wilks said, speaking to CBC Newsworld. "A series of events occurred that were uncontrollable by them. They tried their best to save people, but Mother Nature … showed that she was a little stronger that day."