Two Argentine citizens died after being trapped in a avalanche which was recorded outside the Kicking Horse Mountain Resort ski center, located about 300 kilometers from Calgary, Canada.
The young people who traveled accompanied by other friends were surprised by snowfall when the group decided to move to High Wide Power, an area renowned for having ski resorts southeast of the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia. Although the avalanche happened last Thursday, the news was only spread so far.
In the avalanche Manuel Sáenz and Gerónimo Regina, natives of City Bell and Lobos, passed away. In addition, a third person, Josué Alonso, from Tres Arroyos, survived but suffered serious injuries, for which he remains hospitalized.
The slide took place in an area known as Terminator 2.5, off-limits to the ski area near Golden, British Columbia. The 100-meter-wide avalanche trapped the three citizens, but only Sáenz and Regina lost their lives instantly. While Alonso was rescued a few hours later after an emergency call.
According to the authorities of Avalanche Canada, “it was a type 3.5 landslide, with a drag of 115 meters wide and almost one kilometer long, in an area covered with 1.5 meters of snow.”
They also detailed that “A second group of snowboarders was below the first when the incident occurred and was hit by the slipalthough he suffered no injuries. They would have been the ones who gave notice of the accident.”
While Alonso, the only survivor, recounted from the hospital: “He had been left with his body under the snow and his head outside. He had the security apparatus that is for avalanches, which emits waves so that they can find us. Thank God I counted on that and they were able to track me down. They activated all the helicopter rescue systems and took me to the clinic.”
Who were Manuel Sáenz and Gerónimo Regina?
Manuel Sáenz was 37 years old and had lived in Chile for 4 years, where he worked as a leadership coach. One of the victim’s friends reported that Sáenz had gone on vacation to Canada with his wife, since skiing and snowboarding were his passion.
For his part, Gerónimo Regina was a well-known merchant in the town of Lobos, as well as an outstanding soccer player in different teams in the zonal League.
