Eight skiers have tragically been confirmed dead following an avalanche in California's Sierra Nevada mountains, where they had been on a three-day trip. Officials announced that six members of the group survived, while one person remains unaccounted for. The incident occurred near Castle Peak, close to the Nevada border, prompting a massive emergency response from around 50 search and rescue personnel to locate the missing individuals.

The avalanche on Tuesday represents the deadliest event of its kind in the United States since 1981, when eleven climbers lost their lives at Mount Rainier in Washington. The sheriff of Sierra County, Shannan Moon, held a press conference to provide updates on the situation, underscoring the severity of the natural disaster that impacted the area amid a winter storm on the American West Coast.

Among the six survivors rescued from the snow was a group comprising five women and one man. Although one survivor was taken to the hospital due to injuries, reports indicated that those injuries were not life-threatening. The loss of life in this tragedy has sent a shockwave through the skiing community and raises concerns about safety during extreme weather conditions in mountain regions, particularly as such storms increase in frequency due to climate change.