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Fatal ski incident under investigation
Elk Valley RCMP and the BC Coroners Service are investigating the sudden death of a skier, discovered in medical distress late Friday afternoon outside of Fernie.
On January 17, just after 4:30 p.m., Elk Valley RCMP received a report of a skier discovered unresponsive in the snow amongst trees located on Fernie Alpine Resort.
Initial reports indicate that the victim had been skiing with another person, when the two became separated. That person re-traced his run in search of his associate and made the discovery.
“He immediately called for support from the Fernie Alpine Resort’s ski patrol, which responded to the scene,” stated Cpl. Jesse O’Donaghey, spokesperson for the RCMP Southeast District. “The patient was transported off the mountain by ski patrollers, and to a local hospital by BC Emergency Health Services. Sadly, despite the efforts of all involved, the skier was later pronounced deceased in hospital.”
The deceased has been identified as a Fernie man in his 30s, originally from Quebec.
The BC Coroners Service was notified of the man’s death and is now investigating. Due to the privacy of the deceased, his name will not be released.
The RCMP and the BC Coroners Service have no further information for release.
RCMP and the BC Coroners Service are also investigating the sudden death of a snowboarder, discovered in medical distress Friday afternoon outside of Nelson.
On January 17, just before 12:30 p.m., Nelson RCMP received a report of a snowboarder discovered unresponsive in a tree well located in an out of bounds area of the Whitewater Ski Resort. A passerby, who made the discovery, immediately started CPR and called for support from ski patrol and emergency first responders.
The patient was transported to secondary location within the resort, where emergency medical responders took over CPR, reported Cpl. O’Donaghey. “Despite all their efforts, the man was pronounced deceased by emergency paramedics.”
The deceased has since been identified as a Central Kootenay man in his 30s.
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