The Nevada County, California sheriff’s office late Tuesday announced that they had rescued six out of 15 backcountry skiers believed to have been struck by an avalanche at around 11:30 AM local time in the area of Castle Peak, northwest of Lake Tahoe, the Los Angeles Times reports.
“The six initially reported skiers who survived the avalanche have been successfully rescued this evening by search and rescue teams with varying injuries. Due to extreme weather conditions, it took several hours for rescue personnel to safely reach the skiers and transport them to safety where they were medically evaluated by Truckee Fire. Two of the six skiers have been transported to a hospital for treatment. The search is ongoing, pending weather conditions. It should be noted it was initially believed there were 16 total persons, but that number has been updated to reflect 15 people who actually went on the trip,” posted the sheriff’s office at 10:46 PM PST on Tuesday.