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Five Korean hikers found dead in Mt. Harvey in Canada

Posted April. 11, 2017 07:13,   

Updated April. 11, 2017 07:21

한국어
Five Korean hikers died at Mount Harvey near Vancouver, Canada. The Vancouver Sun, a local newspaper, said on Sunday (local time) that the hikers, members of the Korean hikers’ club in Canada, fell 500 meters at the top of the snow-covered mountain.

“It appears these people stepped onto that cornice, which is unsupported snow, especially with the heavy snow and wind we’ve had, and it broke, sheered off and they fell to the base of Mount Harvey, ”Martin Colwell of a regional rescue team said. A cornice appears to be a heap of hardened snow on land, but it is in fact made of only snow, which is highly likely to collapse when people traverse it. Hikers often have an accident when they step on to a cornice at the top of a mountain.

The dead have not been identified yet. All of the five are Koreans living in Canada and seem to have enjoyed hiking. A 50-something woman who was a hospital caregiver was an experienced hiker since college days, local media reported. Though the hikers were well equipped with whistles, GPS beacons and snow shovel, they appear to have failed to use them in the unexpected accident.

An avalanche warning had been issued since Friday for the northern part of Vancouver where Mount Harvey is located. It is reported that rescue is quite difficult due to high winds and heavy snow.



Se-Hyung Lee turtle@donga.com · Sang-Hoon Kim corekim@donga.com