Two people were killed and three others were injured after a cascade of sliding rocks fell on them on Thursday while they were hiking in Banff National Park in Alberta, one of Canada’s major tourism destinations.
The authorities recovered the body of one of the two hikers who were killed on Thursday and said she was a 70-year-old woman from Calgary. They did not release her name.
The second body was recovered on Friday, and the authorities have not provided more information about that victim. Officials said they were not looking for any other possible victims.
The rockslide happened near Bow Glacier Falls, an area about a half-hour drive north of Lake Louise, a major attraction in the park known for its vibrant blue waters set against a majestic background of towering mountains. Banff is Canada’s most popular national park, with about four million annual visitors.
“I am deeply saddened to learn of the tragic event at Bow Glacier Falls,” Danielle Smith, the premier of Alberta, said in statement.
Emergency crews were called to the area early Thursday afternoon, and found one hiker dead at the scene, which is part of a hiking trail. Two others were taken to a hospital by helicopters and the third in an ambulance. The authorities did not disclose their injuries.
Disaster response teams had been flying aircraft in the park on Friday using infrared cameras, which capture thermal imaging, to survey the grounds, searching for other possible victims, and found the second hiker’s body, then determined that there were no other victims.
The authorities were working to notify the next of kin of the people killed in the rockslide and have dispatched a geotechnical engineer to survey the slope to determine the risks of more rockslides, according to a joint statement by Parks Canada and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
The Bow Glacier Falls trail, where the hikers were traveling, is about 2.7 miles in one direction and takes around three hours to complete, according to Parks Canada, which rates the trail as appropriate for moderately experienced hikers.
Vjosa Isai is a reporter and researcher for The Times based in Toronto, where she covers news from across Canada.
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