Avalanche kills three people at a resort in Russia
A massive avalanche hit the Gora Otdelnaya (Separate Mountain) resort complex outside the Russian Arctic city of Norilsk, crushing several huts with skiers inside
The snow mass covered about 300 square meters, crushing huts and killing three people including a child. A teenager with frostbite was rescued from under the snow.
The incident prompted an overnight rescue operation, involving more than 240 emergency workers and volunteers. The operation was complicated by extreme weather conditions, heavy snow, and high winds in the area, Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said.
Teenager rescued and hospitalised
The rescuers got a 14-year-old boy out alive from under the snow. The teenager suffered frostbite as well as other injuries and was hospitalised. Three other people – two adults and a child, likely to be the family of the injured boy – were killed by the avalanche. The emergency workers were able to recover their bodies and the rescue operation was declared complete, with all the people in the area accounted for.
Russia’s Investigative Committee said it dispatched its officers to Norilsk, which lies some 190 miles inside the Arctic Circle to probe the incident. The investigators will look into potential violations of safety measures at the resort, as well as trying to establish who exactly owned the buildings crushed by the avalanche.