U.S. authorities reported that eight skiers died in an avalanche in the Sierra Nevada mountains, California, while one person remains missing, making the incident one of the deadliest avalanches in U.S. history. Rescuers reached six survivors, including one man and five women, late on Monday amid a severe winter storm that had dumped several feet of new snow on the high Sierra mountains in recent days. The avalanche was reported on Tuesday at Castle Peak in the Sierra Nevada, near Lake Tahoe, a popular tourist area in California. Sheriff and Nevada County Public Administrator Shannan Moon stated at a press conference that the missing person is presumed dead, raising the avalanche death toll to nine. The group consisted of nine women and six men. Among the survivors are two women and four men, leaving a toll of seven women and two men dead in the incident. Authorities acknowledged this is one of the deadliest incidents in the U.S. in recent decades. Two survivors were taken to the hospital but are in stable condition. Initially, the Nevada County Sheriff's Department reported 16 people affected by the avalanche, but after consulting with the company that organized the expedition, it was confirmed that one person did not show up. The deceased were tourists residing in different parts of the U.S. Moon described the weather conditions as 'severe and extreme,' which likely fueled the avalanche. The large amount of snow and hurricane-force winds that impaired visibility also complicated the search.
