Two Alberta men killed in avalanche near McBride

Two men are dead following an avalanche near McBride Saturday.

Police say that four men from Alberta were snowmobiling on the Lower Dore Mountain Range when the avalanche caught three of the four men.

One was able to dig himself out immediately. The third man was dug out by the other two survivors but it was apparent that he had succumbed to his injuries and was deceased at the time of the recovery. The two survivors were not able to locate the forth individual so they went for help.

At the time, the search and rescue team (SAR) deemed the Conditions in the area to be too dangerous to attempt a search and recover effort at that time.

On the morning of March 22, SAR, Coroner Service and local resources implemented a recovery plan. The deceased man was first removed by long line helicopter and once the avalanche technicians deemed the area to be safe, the second deceased man was located a short distance from the first in approximately 15 feet of snow.

The names of the deceased are being withheld police say the deceased are a 29-year-old Ponoka man and a 36-year-old Sherwood Park man.