One Dead in Avalanche Near Vail, Colo. - East Idaho News
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One Dead in Avalanche Near Vail, Colo.

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GETTY 010714 Avalanche?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1389138559586iStock/Thinkstock(EAGLE COUNTY, Colo.) — One person was killed and three others trapped and injured Tuesday in a large avalanche in the backcountry terrain east of Vail ski resort in Eagle County, Colo.

The slide happened at about 11:30 a.m., according to Eagle County Sheriff spokeswoman Jessie Mosher.

Search-and-rescue teams responded to the avalanche area, which started near the treeline, the Colorado Avalanche Information Center reported.

At least four people were trapped, the center said. Three were rescued with non-life-threatening injuries, but one person did not survive, Mosher said.

The age, gender and identities of the victims were not immediately available.

The avalanche occurred outside the boundary of the Vail Ski Resort in an area called the East Vail Chutes, officials said. It happened in the same backcountry area where Edwin LaMair was briefly buried alive after triggering an avalanche on Dec. 22. His brother Davis recorded dramatic video as he skied to Edwin’s rescue.

Tuesday’s avalanche fatality in Colorado is the fifth in the U.S. this season, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center. On average, the center says 28 people are killed in avalanches every year.

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