Three Family Members Killed By Avalanche At Russian Arctic Ski Resort

Video released by Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry showed rescuers working during the night to shovel snow off a building that had been buried.

Rescuers at a ski resort outside the Russian Arctic city of Norilsk have recovered the bodies of three family members killed by an avalanche overnight.

The press service for the Russian Investigative Committee's branch for the Krasnoyarsk territory and Khakassia announced the development on January 9 after a series of avalanches hit buildings at the Gora Otdelnaya ski resort outside of Norilsk.

It said the victims included a 45-year-old man, a 38-year-old woman, and an 18-month-old child.

It said a fourth victim from the same family, a 14-year-old boy recovered from under the snow, was rushed to Norilsk hospital in grave condition on January 9. He was said to be suffering from severe frostbite.

The Investigative Committee said it had launched a criminal case into the incident to determine whether the ski resort was negligent by providing services that failed to meet safety requirements.

Video released by Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry showed rescuers working during the night to shovel snow off a building that had been buried.

On the morning of January 9, the ministry's branch in Siberia's Krasnoyarsk region, which includes Norilsk, said all missing people had been found and that it was ending the search-and-rescue mission.

Based on reporting by Interfax and AFP