Jackson (US): Separate avalanches in Wyoming`s Jackson area killed two people in less than two hours, authorities said.
Rex J Anderson of Arco, Idaho, was killed Thursday while snowmobiling in Waterfall Canyon near the Idaho border, the Jackson Hole News & Guide reported.
The slide occurred less than two hours after 29-year-old Jackson resident Michael Kazanjy was
killed by an avalanche while he was skiing a slope known as Pucker Face.
Anderson, 39, was with three other snowmobilers when he was buried by the slide, the Bridger-Teton National Forest Avalanche Centre said.
Anderson`s companions were not caught in the slide. They found him with the help of his avalanche beacon and dug him out within 10 minutes but could not revive him, authorities said.
A helicopter from Air Rescue Idaho arrived within 37 minutes. Rescue crew members confirmed that Anderson could not be revived, authorities said.
The avalanche was about 350 yards (320 metres) long but the depth wasn`t immediately available. It occurred at about 9,000 feet (2,700 metres) elevation.
The avalanche that killed Kazanjy occurred at around 10,300 feet (3,100 metres).
Both avalanches occurred in the early afternoon, when the avalanche centre had warned that slides were most likely. Both occurred at elevations where the avalanche danger was ranked as "moderate."
Jackson is in northwestern Wyoming.
