Some of the most fatal avalanches in Canada’s recorded history

Four snowshoers who went missing in the North Shore Mountains near Vancouver were found dead on Sunday. Police were alerted to their disappearance after a hiker called 911 on Saturday to say a snow ledge at the peak of Mount Harvey had collapsed.

There are an average of fourteen avalanche-related deaths in Canada every year, and most occur in B.C. and western Alberta. Here are some of the deaths from avalanches and snowslides in Canada.

Jan. 2016: Five men, all snowmobilers from Alberta, died after a major avalanche in McBride, a small B.C. town near Prince George.

March 2010: Two people were killed and hundreds trapped when an avalanche hit a snowmobile drag race event in Revelstoke, B.C.

Dec. 2008: Eight snowmobilers from the small mining town of Sparwood, B.C. were killed in an avalanche in nearby Fernie. More than 2,000 people attended the public funeral.

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Feb. 2003: Seven high-school skiers were killed in Revelstoke. It was the second major avalanche in the area in 12 days.

Jan. 1999: In one of the deadliest avalanches in Canadian history, nine people died in an avalanche in Kangiqsualujjuaq, an Inuit village in Northern Quebec, on New Year’s Day.

Nov. 1998: Michel Trudeau, brother of Justin Trudeau, was swept into the waters of Kokanee Lake after an avalanche in British Columbia’s interior. His body was never recovered.

Dec. 1996: Three European tourists heli-skiing on a glacier near Whistler were killed when an avalanche hit.

May 1996: Three skiers, all residents of Vancouver, died in an avalanche in Bella Coola, B.C.

March 1991: Nine heli-skiers were killed on the Purcell Mountains in Golden, B.C., in one of the best-known heli-skiing areas in the world.

The Canadian Press

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