Politics
Eight skiers confirmed dead in California avalanche, one still missing
- Rescue teams contending with dangerous conditions.
- Sheriff says avalanche danger was widely forecast.
- Avalanches claim average of 27 lives each winter in US.
At least eight skiers died in an avalanche in California’s Sierra Nevada mountains, and a ninth is presumed dead, authorities said on Wednesday, making the disaster one of the deadliest single avalanches in US history.
Rescuers on skis were able to reach six survivors amid an intense winter storm that had dropped several feet of fresh snow on the high Sierra in recent days. One skier remains unaccounted for.
The avalanche – the length of a football field, according to authorities – struck in the Castle Peak area of Truckee, California, about 10 miles north of Lake Tahoe, around 11:30am Pacific time on Tuesday, engulfing a group of backcountry skiers who were completing a three-day guided excursion.
One of the rescued skiers is still being treated in a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, Nevada County Sheriff Shannan Moon said at a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.
The survivors had taken refuge in a makeshift shelter, constructed partly from tarpaulin sheets, and communicated with rescuers via radio beacon and text messaging.
Two rescue teams, totalling about 50 members, were dispatched from the Boreal Mountain Ski Resort and Tahoe Donner’s Alder Creek Adventure Center and approached the avalanche zone from the south and north.
Extreme conditions for rescuers
The rescuers faced “extreme” conditions, Moon said, including blinding snow and gale-force winds. A team was able to use a snowcat vehicle to get within two miles of the survivors and then ski to the accident site.
The eight dead skiers were found with their beacons active, and their bodies will be recovered when weather permits, authorities said. One was married to a member of the search-and-rescue team.
The group of skiers had been finishing a three-day excursion with Blackbird Mountain Guides at the time of the avalanche. The tour group included four guides and 11 clients, who stayed at the Frog Lake Backcountry Huts located near Donner Summit, just northwest of Truckee, at about 7,500 feet elevation (2,300 meters).
In a typical winter, the mountain receives more than 400 inches of snow, making it one of the snowiest places in the western hemisphere.
Moon noted that forecasts widely predicted the storm and attendant avalanche danger and said her office is still talking with the guide company about its decision to take people out.
The Sierra Avalanche Center extended the avalanche warning it issued on Tuesday, saying a “great” danger might continue throughout the day on Wednesday.
Blackbird issued a statement on Tuesday saying it was working with authorities to support the rescue operation.
The company was founded in 2020 and operates in California, Washington state and British Columbia, as well as numerous popular skiing spots abroad, according to its website. The company provides guided ski trips, alpine climbing trips and avalanche education.
Avalanches have claimed an average of 27 lives each winter in the United States over the past decade, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, which had tallied six US avalanche fatalities so far this season before Tuesday’s disaster.
- Washington-Tehran indirect discussions aimed at averting crisis
- White House reviews regional US troop deployment, set by mid-Mar.
- Secretary of State Marco Rubio to meet Netanyahu on Feb 28 over Iran.
Iran is expected to submit a formal proposal outlining steps to ease tensions with the United States, following indirect talks in Geneva on Tuesday, a senior US official told Reuters on Wednesday.
The discussions, involving US envoys and Iran’s top diplomat, aimed to prevent the standoff from escalating further.
Top US national security advisers met in the White House Situation Room on Wednesday to discuss Iran and were told all US military forces deployed to the region should be in place by mid-March, the official said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio will meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel to discuss Iran on February 28, the official said.
Tuesday’s indirect discussions in Geneva between US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, alongside Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, were aimed at heading off a mounting crisis between the two countries.
The United States wants Iran to give up its nuclear programme, and Iran has adamantly refused and denied that it is trying to develop an atomic weapon.
Iran agreed to make a written proposal on how to address US concerns during the Geneva talks, the senior US official said.
“We are currently waiting for that from the Iranians,” the official said.
The US has sought to expand the scope of talks to non-nuclear issues such as Iran’s missile stockpile. Iran says it is willing only to discuss curbs on its nuclear programme, in exchange for sanctions relief, and that it will not give up uranium enrichment completely or discuss its missile programme.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Wednesday that some progress was made in Geneva but that “we’re still very apart on some issues.”
Trump has ordered a major military buildup in the region as he contemplates the use of force with a second aircraft carrier group en route.
“The president has ordered the continued buildup in the region, including the arrival of the second carrier group. Full forces should be in place by mid-March,” the senior US official said.
- UAE president, US senator discuss regional security, stability.
- Meeting takes place at presidential palace, Qasr Al Shati: WAM.
- Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed, others attend high-level meeting.
United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan met US Senator Lindsey Graham on Wednesday in Abu Dhabi, where they discussed regional developments and joint efforts to promote peace in the Middle East.
The meeting was held at Qasr Al Shati, the UAE’s WAM news agency reported, releasing photographs and video of Sheikh Mohammed and senior Emirati officials in talks with the US senator.
The two sides discussed the friendship and strategic cooperation between the UAE and the United States and their shared commitment to strengthening their partnership in support of mutual interests, according to the Emirates news agency.
The meeting also addressed regional developments, as well as matters concerning regional security and stability and joint efforts to promote peace in the Middle East and beyond.
The meeting was attended by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Court for Special Affairs, and Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan, Adviser to the UAE President, along with a number of ministers and senior officials.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has ordered the release of a total of 3,296 prisoners on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan, in separate pardons announced by the country’s leadership.
UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan ordered the release of 1,440 inmates from correctional and penal institutions across the country.
He also pledged to settle their outstanding financial obligations resulting from their sentences, in a move aimed at giving them an opportunity to start a new life and easing the hardship on their families during Ramadan.
In Dubai, the emirate’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who also serves as UAE Vice President and Prime Minister, ordered the release of 1,856 prisoners of various nationalities from Dubai’s correctional facilities.
Such pardons are traditionally announced in the UAE ahead of Ramadan and other significant occasions, offering selected inmates a chance to rebuild their lives.
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