Monitoring Desk
TOKYO: Two men were confirmed killed following an avalanche in Japan, police said on Monday, a day after the sad accident in the central region of Nagano.
Authorities in Japan declined to reveal the identity of the deceased, but the American ski magazine Mountain Gazette said that one of the dead was US professional skier Kyle Smaine.
Two men who were accompanying Smaine said on Instagram that he had been killed in the avalanche.
A local police spokesperson told AFP that rescue teams confirmed the death of the two men.
He added that nationalities or identities would be released after complete ID checks.
Avalanche occurred in Otari village
The two men had been outside the patrolled parts of a ski resort in Otari village along with several other snowboarders and skiers when the avalanche occurred on Sunday.
The missing two had been outside the patrolled areas of a ski resort in Otari village along with several other skiers and snowboarders when the avalanche took place on Sunday.
The others successfully returned down the mountain, but 2 foreign nationals were missing by Sunday night.
The Mountain Gazette said that Smain, 31, had accompanied by fellow professional skier Adam U and the senior photographer of the publication Grant Gunderson when he was killed. –AFP/APP
