Officials in British Columbia are still working to officially identify the 5 people that died in an avalanche while hiking in the mountains north of Vancouver on Saturday. Komonews.com is reporting the bodies of the hikers were recovered from the avalanche that officials believe was triggered when they walked on a unstable cornice on Mount Harvey.
When the cornice collapsed it triggered the avalanche that sent the hikers 500 meters downslope. It is reported that the hikers were from BC’s Lower Midland and belonged to a regular hiking group. They were traveling with winter hiking gear such as shovels but did not have full avalanche gear including beacons or probes.Grief counsellors were on scene when family members of the victims gathered near the search headquarters yesterday and will also be made available to the dozens of people who were involved in the search.