TRAGEDY

Deadly Rockslide Engulfs Hikers at Popular National Park

The natural disaster has killed at least one person, with three others injured.

A hiker was killed when a massive rockslide engulfed part of a popular national park.

The disaster took place on Thursday in Canada’s Banff National Park, where a crew of outdoorsmen were strolling north of Lake Louise. The Lake Louise police team said that multiple hikers were caught in the fatal rockfall, and one person died at the scene.

Immediately after the catastrophe, two helicopters transported three patients to a medical center where they are being treated. Their conditions are unknown at the time.

“I am deeply saddened to learn of the tragic event at Bow Glacier Falls, north of Banff,“ Alberta’s premier, Danielle Smith, shared on X. ”We are thinking of all those involved and wishing for their safety as we await further details.”

During the incident, a large shelf of stone came crashing down the mountainside, churning up an array of thick grey dust. Some videos shared online depict a hiker frantically walking alongside the cliff face as the cloud billows up.

One onlooker, Kamala Dixon, posted real time footage of the rockslide to her social media.

“I felt something wasn’t right and when I heard the crack I turned around expecting to see a few rocks, instead total devastation,” she wrote on Facebook.

Niclas Brundell, who managed to escape, told CBC News that he was hiking in the area when the rocks began to plummet down. He estimated that the landslide was 160 feet wide and 30 feet deep.

“We heard this like ‘chunk’ noise and the whole roof of the wall came loose,” he said. “And we just started sprinting down. I was yelling at my wife, ‘Go, go, go! We need to run as fast as we can.’”

He said that up to 20 people were around at the time, and he recalled the horror of seeing them get lost in the dust. As he sprinted, he couldn’t make out anyone behind them because of the billowing dust. Rocks were tumbling down everywhere, threatening to crush anyone in their midst.

“It was bit. It was like the full mountainside,” he said.

Nearby Bow Lake has been closed by authorities, and a no-fly zone has been established in the area. Although Banff National Park remains open to the public, tourists have been told that delays will occur due to rescue efforts still taking place.

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