An avalanche has occurred at a California ski resort near Lake Tahoe, and a search is underway.
News from the scene is that multiple people have been rescued and crews are urgently searching for tourists trapped in the snow.
However, there are slight discrepancies in the information from various sources, and it is uncertain whether anyone has been buried or injured.
The avalanche occurred around 9:30 a.m. at Lake Tahoe in Palisades, with the main side concentrated above the GS ditch area of KT-22, the resort said in a statement on X.
Many parts of the U.S. have been affected by a series of winter storms in recent days, and the mountainous Lake Tahoe resort is expected to have wind gusts of 100 mph in Richtop today.
The resort had been closed for a day after a winter snowstorm hit.
In an unconfirmed report obtained by **, it was stated that as many as 20 people were rescued from the snow.
Also according to Mark Sponsler, a weather forecaster based at the resort, the avalanche occurred within minutes of the KT-22 ramp opening for the first time this winter, probably"Multiplayer"Missing.
On Wednesday morning, Srpsler and his wife went skiing at the Palisades base in the Olympic Valley. He wrote on Instagram:"Apparently, the first skiers to get on the gondola slid down the bowl area below the gondola, causing a large avalanche that spanned the entire bowl-shaped area.
Many people are buried, pray they are still alive! Even with less snow, the possibility of avalanches is very high. Stay safe and vigilant!
He told the San Francisco Chronicle:"A person who witnessed it all told me that they saw at least five people disappear under the snow and only one person came up. They also saw skis and poles sticking out of the snow. It's not a small landslide, it's really a big deal.
But Platsey County Sheriff spokesman Sgt. David Smith told the Associated Press"There are no confirmed reports of people being trapped at this time", but the search team is assessing the area.
Hosted the 1960 Winter Olympics, the resort has more than 6,000 acres of skiing and an average of 450 inches of snow per season.
Wind gusts of more than 100 mph (160 km/h) on the ridges around Lake Tahoe late Tuesday come after a powerful snowstorm is expected to bring up to 2 feet (61 cm) of snow to the highest elevations early Thursday. Reno's National Weather Service said 2 inches (5 centimeters) of snow could fall around Lake Tahoe every hour on Wednesday.
Wind gusts of 110 mph (177 km/h) were recorded Tuesday afternoon at the summit of Alpine Meadows, a sister resort in Palisades, south of Truckee, California, the National Weather Service said.
As of press time, I have not been able to see more details, and I hope that no one will be trapped.