Crews recover bodies of nine skiers after US avalanche

Teams recovered the bodies of nine skiers who died in an avalanche in California last week.

A search team recovered the bodies of eight victims in the Sierra Nevada backcountry on Saturday and located another victim presumed dead who had been missing since Tuesday’s avalanche at Castle Peak near Lake Tahoe.

Rescue efforts were postponed for a few days due to heavy snowfall and avalanche danger.

Among the dead were six women who were close friends and experienced skiers, as well as three professional guides. The other six people on the trip survived the deadliest avalanche in the United States since 1981.

A Black Hawk helicopter flew to the site of the deadly avalanche as part of efforts to make the area safe enough for crews to recover the victims’ bodies.

Officials said Friday they were using water to break up snow in the area as an avalanche mitigation effort, a technique designed to deliberately release unstable snowdrifts to reduce risk once rescuers move in.